The Italian media have been trying their very hardest this week to build the idea of Shkodran Mustafi moving to Serie A.
Firstly it was Inter Milan linked, with Gazzetta dello Sport stretching the boundaries of reality to make a transfer sound possible.
Arsene Wenger’s comments in his Friday press conference, when he didn’t say a Mustafi exit is impossible, will be jumped upon to inflate things further and this is likely to be a theme until the end of the window.
The Dutch central defender has been edging to get out of Southampton this summer and he’d probably value a move to Arsenal as highly as he has a move to Liverpool.
That would all fit in for the Italian media. Van Dijk would leave Southampton for Arsenal, and Mustafi would then leave the Gunners for Serie A.
Inter Milan could then even try to sell Andrea Ranocchia to Southampton, and the circle would close.
