Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester City have all joined Arsenal in keeping tabs on Boca Juniors youngster Tomás Aranda.
The 20-year-old has attracted plenty of attention during his breakthrough year in Argentina. Arsenal were among the first Premier League clubs linked, and that English list is now getting considerably longer.
Argentine outlets El Intransigente and El Crack Deportivo both report Chelsea are following Aranda closely. The former also names Liverpool and the City Group among the midfielder’s admirers.
That means Manchester City can be added to the picture, although the report specifically refers to the City Group rather than Enzo Maresca’s side individually.
Boca, unsurprisingly, would prefer all of them to stay away. At least for now.
Premier League queue getting longer
Aranda’s development during 2026 explains why so many clubs are taking notice. Earlier reports linking Arsenal with the youngster came when he had played only 21 senior matches. He had one goal and two assists at that stage.
Those numbers have moved on. Aranda has now made 30 appearances this year, playing 1,931 minutes and registering one goal and three assists.
More importantly for Boca, he has become a regular part of manager Rodolfo Arruabarrena’s plans and one of the top performers in Argentina.
Club president Juan Román Riquelme sees the midfielder as one of Boca’s most valuable young assets. El Intransigente says both he and Arruabarrena want Aranda to stay and continue his development in Argentina.
His contract certainly helps them. Aranda is tied to Boca until December 2029, meaning there is no need for the club to entertain ordinary offers. There is, though, a fairly obvious catch.
€17m (£15m) gives interested clubs a way in
Aranda’s contract contains a $20m release clause, currently worth around €17m (£15m).
El Crack Deportivo says Boca don’t want to lose the midfielder. El Intransigente also makes it clear Riquelme wants to keep one of the club’s biggest young prospects.
However, an interested side willing to trigger that clause would leave Boca with little contractual power to stop the transfer.
For any Premier League side, €17m (£15m) isn’t an enormous gamble on a 20-year-old already playing regularly for one of South America’s biggest clubs.
But English sides aren’t the only ones looking, either. Inter Milan, Bayer Leverkusen, Parma and Como are all named in the latest reports. Brazil’s Corinthians and São Paulo are also mentioned.
Then there are the previous links from England. Aston Villa and Brighton have both been credited with interest in Aranda in recent weeks, although neither has moved forward with a formal offer.
Nobody has made a concrete move yet, and Boca clearly want to keep Aranda. With Chelsea, Liverpool and the City Group now added to an already sizeable list, that €17m (£15m) clause could become increasingly uncomfortable for Riquelme.
