Atletico Madrid star Thomas Partey has dealt Arsenal a blow after his father's claim that the Gunners were in negotiations to sign the midfielder.
Partey has been heavily linked with a move to the Emirates, and speculation over a summer switch was boosted when the Ghana international's dad Jacob said Arsenal were in talks with Atletico over the 26-year-old.
However, the player's representatives JJSports said the claim was "totally untrue".
And now Partey appears to have backed that stance by sharing a social media post from the sports management agency.
The Instagram post read: "Quick Note !!! In the midst of transfer period, a lot of stories are created, manufactured and also alleged until the final day of the transfer period. Mostly adds up to the hype and promotion of the beautiful game.
"Father of Thomas Partey might have said something but can we also put everything aside and respect the official communication from his management JJS Sports.
"At this period a lot of persons (some media personel) in search of exclusive stories would want to pounce on conversations around just to suit their agenda.
"The fact is that, any statement heard was an opinion clearly misinterpreted to suit a particular agenda."
While the post reiterated JJSports' stance that there was "absolutely no truth" in Partey's father's claim, it stopped short of stating that the player would be staying at Atletico this summer.
The post continued: "There has been nothing officially communicated or no such conversations between the player and anybody.
"There is absolutely no truth in what the player’s dad was alleged to have said.
"We wish the media and all fans will embrace the official message from the player’s agent and not any family member or friend.
"We are not in normal times, let’s keep believing everything will be back to normal and football will take its place once more in the heart of many."
