It is no secret now that Jose Mourinho’s AS Roma are keen to sign Arsenal ace Ainsley Maitland-Niles this month.
The Giallorossi have been heavily linked with a move for the Englishman over the last two weeks. Maitland-Niles, labelled as ‘fantastic‘ by Martin Keown, is nowhere near the top of Mikel Arteta’s pecking order at the Emirates and he’s not keen on sticking around just to sit on the bench.
A move to Roma to join fellow Englishman Tammy Abraham is a very good opportunity for the 24-year-old. He could thrive in Italy, and under a manager like Mourinho, he could fulfil the massive potential he showed a few years ago.
However, Arsenal are not making it easy for the Italian club.
According to Gianluca Di Marzio, Roma have tabled an offer to sign Maitland-Niles on loan this month with an option to buy him for £8.4 million at the end of this season.
Arsenal are prepared to let him leave on loan in the coming days, but it doesn’t look like Edu and Mikel Arteta are convinced by Roma’s valuation of the versatile Englishman. The Gunners haven’t responded to the Giallorossi’s offer yet and that seems to have irked them.
The report claims that Roma issued an ultimatum to Arsenal yesterday. The Gunners have 72 hours to give them a definitive answer about their offer for Maitland-Niles. If they don’t, Mourinho and co will move on.
Roma are very keen to sign the Englishman, but the deal rests in Arsenal’s hands for now.
This reminds us of the whole Granit Xhaka saga in the summer, doesn’t it?
Roma were keen to sign the Swiss international before the start of the season and a deal even looked imminent at one point. However, the Italians tried to get him for a cheap transfer fee and Arsenal were having none of that. Xhaka stayed and signed a new deal in the end.
The Maitland-Niles situation now seems very similar. Arsenal are demanding a specific deal and Roma are trying to bring it down again. If history is anything to go by, the Gunners won’t budge and it’s up to Mourinho’s side to either meet the Gunners’ demands or miss out on the player, just like they did in the summer.
It will be interesting to see how this pans out in the coming days.
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