Arsenal ‘ready to pay’ huge transfer fee ‘immediately’ – Gunners want January move, player wants summer

The general slant in the Italian media on Dusan Vlahovic has been that the Fiorentina striker has zero interest in joining the Gunners, and his agents have refused to even speak to the Premier League club.

That was all reported just after it was claimed La Viola and Arsenal had reached an agreement on a fee of around €80m.

Wednesday’s edition of Gazzetta dello Sport has a slightly new slant, explaining that Arsenal are ‘ready to pay’ the €80m fee ‘immediately’ but the player’s agents won’t enter into talks because Vlahovic is determined to stay until the summer.

He remains in great goalscoring form and wants to drag his club to European qualification, before then leaving.

That may well suggest that Arsenal would have a better chance in the summer window, although they’re still likely to face very strong competition. Juventus are keen and Vlahovic is thought to be tempted by that option, although Fiorentina would rather sell to any other club.

Manchester City and Tottenham have also been linked, although it’s the Gunners who are said to be willing to pay up.