Arsenal were the highest spenders in the Premier League during the summer transfer window, focusing more on reinforcements for their defence and midfield. With the January transfer window around the corner, manager Mikel Arteta now wants to bolster the attack. His primary target is finding a suitable right-winger for his team. Various names are being linked with the club, with the latest being Juventus’ Dejan Kulusevski.
Arteta is clearly not impressed with Nicolas Pepe this season and has trusted Bukayo Saka to play on the right-wing most of the time. The club are therefore looking to bring in a right-winger, with the list also including Real Madrid’s Marco Asensio. Dejan Kulusevski, however, is a more versatile option, as the 21-year-old can play as a right-winger, midfielder or further upfront.
Arsenal are among those clubs that have improved the most on the pitch as the season progressed. From sitting at the bottom, with no points and no goals in their first three league games, they have climbed to the fifth position before the November international break.
This turnaround in performances should be majorly credited to their defence, which saw major reinforcements in the summer including Ben White and Takehiro Tomiyasu. During the negotiations for Tomiyasu, the Gunners were in direct competition with neighbours Tottenham but eventually triumphed in securing the Japanese international. If reports are to be believed, the two clubs could yet again clash for the signature of Dejan Kulusevski.
🚨NEW: According to @DiMarzio, #Arsenal are looking at signing Juventus midfielder Dejan Kulusevski. The Swedish could fancy a move to the Premier League, but with Aaron Ramsey set to leave Turin, Juventus might want to hold on to him. #AFC #TransferTalks #Transfer pic.twitter.com/6alM8fm4AH
— AFC_TransferNews (@ABTNews_AFC) November 11, 2021
According to TuttoMercatoWeb (via Football-Italia) this week, both the North London clubs want to sign the Juventus winger in January. However, there is an update to this report by the same news tabloid. According to journalist Enzo Bucchioni (via HITC), Mikel Arteta’s side could beat Spurs once again this season in signing a Serie A player. He stated that Kulusevski seems to be “destined for Arsenal for about €30m (£25.59m)”. This will be a huge setback for Antonio Conte and his plans for Tottenham.
🇮🇹📰|#AFC
Spurs want Dejan Kulusevski of Juventus but he seems ‘destined for Arsenal for about €30m (£25m)'. (@TuttoMercatoWeb) 🥉
— afcSource™ (@afcSource) November 12, 2021
Dejan Kulusevski has had only two starts this campaign, with nine appearances coming off the bench in Serie A. The Swedish winger has appeared for just 70 minutes in the Champions League so far. Under Pirlo, he featured in 35 league games last season, starting in 19 matches, with four goals and three assists to his name.
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However, it is too early to arrive at any conclusions about Kulusevski’s future at any of the North London outfits. The transfer of Tomiyasu proved that anything could happen in the transfer market until something is actually official.
It seems that the 21-year-old has fallen down the pecking order under Allegri, but it is very unlikely that the Italian giants would let go of the player in January. If his situation at Juventus does not improve, a summer move next season could be possible.
Follow AD for the latest transfer updates on Arsenal.
