Towards the end of May, an idea started creeping inside the head of those in charge of AS Roma that they could use Justin Kluivert as a way of getting Henrikh Mkhitaryan to stay beyond the current season.
Both players are managed by Mino Raiola, and there was hope that with the help of the super agent, something could be arranged with Arsenal in the ball park of €12-15m + the Armenia international for the Dutch youngster.
It does help that the Gunners have an active interest in Kluivert, and while there’s no guarantees they will use Mkhitaryan as a makeweight in the deal, having that option certainly helps.
We say this because Gazzetta dello Sport on Wednesday reveal AS Roma are looking to get ‘at least €40m’ for the 21-year-old.
That’s a lot of money, especially for an Arsenal side who aren’t rumoured as having the biggest budget going into the summer transfer window, so if they can use Mkhitaryan to sweeten the whole affair, that would certainly go a long way.
The idea isn’t repeated in today’s edition, but they do state the Gunners and Barcelona (capable of offering him Champions League football) are the two main interested parties when it comes to the former Ajax youngster.
All in all, Roma are looking to make around €70m from the sales of both Kluivert and Cengiz Ünder, and with Premier League clubs circling for both, they might just get their wish.
Either that, or a bit less + Henrikh Mkhitaryan.
