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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Sport
Simon Collings

Monza open transfer talks with Arsenal as Serie A newbies look to land Pablo Mari on loan deal

Arsenal defender Pablo Mari is a loan target for Italian club Monza.

The Serie A side, who won promotion to the Italian top-flight last season, want to sign a centre-back this summer and have identified Mari as an option.

Talks with Arsenal are at an early stage but Monza hope an agreement can be struck with a view to making the move permanent next summer.

Arsenal are ready to let Mari leave and they are also hoping to shift Ainsley Maitland-Niles, Alex Runarsson, Hector Bellerin and Lucas Torreira.

Goalkeeper Runarsson is attracting interest from Turkey, with Antalyaspor believed to be the club most keen on signing him on loan.

Torreira’s most likely destination remains Galatasaray, who are prepared to pay around £7.5million to bring him in.

At present, Bellerin and Maitland-Niles are not close to leaving the club but interest in them is expected to increase as the transfer window nears its close.

Arsenal kick off their season tomorrow at Crystal Palace and they were today assessing the fitness of a number of players before the trip to Selhurst Park.

Emile Smith Rowe is expected to miss out on the game due to a groin injury, while Fabio Vieira and Kieran Tierney are being assessed.

The pair have both had stop-start summers due to injury and Arsenal will be wary about throwing them into action with a lack of minutes. Tierney is recovering from a knee injury from last season, while Vieira arrived at Arsenal with a foot issue.

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