Arsenal have reportedly offered €20 million for Argentine forward Joaquin Correa, but Lazio have rejected the offer as ‘inadequate’.
According to a report from Corriere dello Sport, as relayed by Sport Witness, Arsenal have tabled a €20 million bid for Lazio attacker Joaquin Correa only to be deemed as insufficient by I Biancocelesti.
For a little while now, the 26-year-old Argentina International has been touted to leave Lazio as he is not in newly-appointed boss Maurizio Sarri’s plans, and it looked like one of Spurs or Arsenal would wind up buying the versatile forward.
The attacker made it plain that he would prefer a trade away from the Serie A outfit, who had been expecting to receive €30 million from any deal for their prized asset. But, unfortunately for the player and Lazio, no one has made a firm offer for the talented forward.
Last season Correa was instrumental as he netted eight goals and laid further three assists in just 28 appearances for Lazio. Majorly deployed as a second striker just behind either Ciro Immobile or Vedat Muriqi, the Argentine international is equally comfortable playing as a left-sided winger or as a centre-forward.
Reading out some of his metrics from last season, Correa took 1.9 shots, made one key pass, averaged 1.1 tackles & interception and completed 1.3 successful dribbles per 90. He’s fairly direct with his runs and good at taking close-range shots with power and accuracy.
Arsenal are currently experiencing a complete overhaul under Mikel Arteta, who has the vision to replenish the Gunners squad with young, vibrant and exciting talents. At 26, Correa fits the profile; his versatility and energy could prove vital for the Gunners.
He would make Arsenal multidimensional as they can play multiple formations with him. He can form a dynamic duo with Gabriel Martinelli or Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who looked lacklustre last season and need someone to cover the ground for him. Though there are a few inconsistencies to Correa’s play, he has all the elements to embed perfectly into Arteta’s system and has a roam for improvement.
The state of play is that Arsenal are looking at Correa as an option which they’ll consider only if available on cheap, but there is a risk with this approach. The Argentine is a hot property in the market and has plenty of suitors from the Premier League rivals the likes of Leeds, Everton, Leicester and Tottenham.
So, if Arsenal does want to secure the signature of Correa, then they need to act quickly to improve their opening offer of €20 million and get closer to Lazio’s asking price of €30 million.
