According to some recent reports, Arsenal are ready to meet the release clause of Atletico Madrid midfielder Thomas Partey. The 26-year-old has spent most of his career in Madrid and rumour has it he could be ready to switch the Spanish sun for London.
However, a closer look at this one makes me feel a move is unlikely.
What FourFourTwo fail to mention in their report is that Partey only recently talked about his love for the club and his ambitions to continue where he is: “Atlético is my home, the club that gave everything, where I want to be. My agent is talking to the club about the renovation. I hope everything goes well.”
With this is mind, it seems very likely that the reason for Arsenal’s ‘interest’ resurfacing is most likely to help Partey get a new and improved contract. It was two years ago since Partey last renewed and despite him having three years to run on his current deal, it wouldn’t surprise me if the Ghanain was hoping to improve his terms once again, in order to reflect his currently (very good) form.
Arsenal’s alleged interest would give Partey’s camp bargaining power in any new contracts talks due to the fact that he currently has a release clause set at just £40million – a relatively small fee given his talent. Atletico will be keen to give the player a new contract with a larger clause, and it would be at this stage that the player would ask for an improved salary.
And behind all of this is Unai Emery. It was the Spanish manager who was so keen to sign Partey last summer and now under the stewardship of Mikel Arteta, it’s very possible that Arsenal are now looking for a different profile of midfielder. It is reported that the club blocked Emery’s attempts to sign Partey too, suggesting that at a higher level, the club were unsure about signing a player of his ilk.
Time will tell but as Dani Ceballos continues to improve under Arteta, the Spanish midfielder may start to creep up the clubs list of targets this summer.