Arsenal’s failure to sign Manuel Locatelli has come to light after Sassuolo chief executive Giovanni Carnevali opened up on the midfielder’s move to Juventus.
Locatelli attracted lots of attention in the summer transfer window following a strong season for Sassuolo and an impressive contribution to Italy’s victory at Euro 2020.
The 23-year-old midfielder was keen to move on from Sassuolo, where he has played for the past three seasons since leaving AC Milan.
Locatelli was always focused on joining Juventus and he got his wish on Wednesday as his move to the Italian giants was confirmed.
Juve have secured the midfielder on a free two-year loan deal, with an obligation to buy in 2023 for a £21million (€25m) fixed fee, plus £10.7m (€12.5m) in potential bonuses.
It appears to be a brilliant deal for Juventus, who made Locatelli their first signing under new boss Max Allegri.
Arsenal’s interest in Locatelli was extensively reported throughout the summer transfer window and Sassuolo director Carnevali has now revealed that the Gunners offered to pay a straight transfer fee of £34m for his signature.
“They offered us €40m, but Locatelli’s will was to go only to Juventus and we did everything to please him,” Carnevali told Gazzetta di Modena.
“A request, that of Arsenal, which cost us something…”
The fact that Arsenal were willing to pay Sassuolo’s asking price, rather than take Locatelli on loan, begs the question: why did they choose Juventus’ proposal?
Carnevali spoke of Sassuolo’s “special relationship” with Juve in July and he went into more detail in his latest interview.
“[It’s] not easy to understand for those who do not have the skills,” he said.
“This operation has brought a positive result and benefits to both clubs, even if certain technicalities are complicated to explain.
“Surely it is wrong to say and think that we ‘gave’ Locatelli to Juve for two years. Someone even spoke of an immoral operation. These are senseless concepts.
“The reality is that at the end of the 2022/23 season for Juve, the obligation to sell will be triggered and we will be guaranteed to collect the over €37m agreed upon.”
While they missed out on Locatelli, Arsenal have still been busy in the transfer window this summer, bringing in five new players for around £130m.
Martin Odegaard joined the Gunners for an initial £30m from Real Madrid and Aaron Ramsdale for £24m from Sheffield United on Friday.
They join Ben White, Albert Sambi Lokonga and Nuno Tavares in Mikel Arteta’s squad for the 2021/22 season.
The north London club are unlikely to be finished, either, with a new right-back and forward on the cards, if they can offload some fringe players.
Hector Bellerin, Lucas Torreira, Sead Kolasinac, Eddie Nketiah and Alexandre Lacazette are among those who could leave before the deadline on August 31.
