Just under a week ago, we covered a story in Gazzetta dello Sport that Henrikh Mkhitaryan was ‘ready to lower his wages’ in order to secure a move away from Arsenal and remain at AS Roma.
There was nothing official about it, but that’s what was being whispered behind the scenes at the Italian club, such has the player’s affinity for the Serie A club grown over the past season.
Happy with his performances between injuries, Paulo Fonseca doesn’t want the Armenia international to return to London either, and all parties on the Italian side of things are currently working towards ensuring the forward remains in Rome.
Gazzetta dello Sport have an update on the situation on Thursday, stating much of what we already know, but also giving us some tidbits of new information.
As has been made clear in the past, a simple renewal of the loan isn’t exactly possible, as Mkhitaryan’s contract comes to an end in 2021, so other ways are being worked on.
It appears one of those is that a new temporary deal could be struck, with an obligation to buy the player for a set fee down the line.
There’s no mention that Mkhitaryan would have to renew his Arsenal deal to do this, as it seems it would simply be a way for Roma to delay a payment they cannot afford this summer.
On top of this, they would also need the player to reduce his wages, but we all know he’s already prepared to do so.
It’s also stated that Mkhitaryan ‘will communicate his desire’ of staying in Rome to Arsenal, much ‘to the delight of Fonseca’, who ‘hopes he will stay in the yellow and red’.
However, while this is Roma’s ideal option, they know it’s not the easiest to pull off, which is why they have also started looking at a plan B should the Armenian return to London.
This is where Chelsea’s Pedro comes in, and you can find all the information you need on that here.
