Arsenal have reportedly reached an agreement with Daniele Rugani, with the Juventus star agreeing personal terms with the Premier League outfit.
Italian journalist Alfredo Pedulla has claimed that Arsenal are set to pip Wolves to the signature of Daniele Rugani. The Gunners have reportedly agreed personal terms with Rugani over a move, with an agreement over a two-year loan with a buy obligation left to be agreed with Juventus.
The report says that Arsenal are looking to negotiate a two-year loan deal with Juventus, with an obligation to buy the player on a permanent basis for a total of €40 million at the end of the loan period. Earlier, Wolves were reported to have taken a lead with a straight cash bid for Rugani.
Rugani has reportedly agreed a contract close to and over €4 million per year, with the report adding that now Wolves are the ones chasing the deal, with Arsenal in the lead once again.
Arsenal are in dire need of a centre-back to add to their squad. William Saliba will not be available before the 2020-21 campaign, having been sent back on loan to Saint-Etienne for the upcoming season. Laurent Koscielny has left the club for Bordeaux after pushing for a move away from Arsenal.
The Gunners have Sokratis, Calum Chambers, Rob Holding and Konstantinos Mavropanos as the current options, with Nacho Monreal’s name also being worthy of being thrown into the hat. Shkodran Mustafi is present, but is also being linked with a move away, hence not considered.
In reality, Sokratis is the only guaranteed starter among the current options including Mustafi, which is why Unai Emery is looking for a central defender.
Arsenal had reportedly gone in with a late bid for Dayot Upamecano. But, with RB Leipzig holding out for €90 million, the Gunners seem to have intensified their efforts to land Rugani ahead of Wolves. Pedulla has also credited Manchester United with interest in Rugani, albeit with no actual movement towards converting it into something concrete.
Daniele Rugani will have his game time heavily restricted with the arrival of Matthijs de Ligt at Juventus. De Ligt and Bonucci are likely to be the first-choice pair, if we take a cue from their pre-season lineups. Giorgio Chiellini will be in for rotation and the club has also snapped up Merih Demiral, who made great strides in the Serie A with Sassuolo.
Rugani is 25 and needs to be a regular starter to claim his stake on the Italian National Team while also succeeding on the potential he had. A move to the Premier League, where he can play regularly, will aid his rise and it will be interesting to see whether Arsenal indeed manage to strike a deal with Juventus, with Rugani agreeing personal terms with the club.
