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Arsenal Told ‘No Chance’ Striker Will Leave After £16.5m Bid Rejected

By on January 18, 2014

Arsenal’s pursuit of Alvaro Morata appears dead in the water after FIFA agent Ernesto Bronzetti revealed that Real Madrid have turned down a €20m (£16.5m) offer for the striker.

We’ve been strongly linked with Morata in recent weeks with boss Arsene Wenger looking to bring him in as an alternative to Olivier Giroud up front. Speculation was intense last week and at one point it seemed certain that he was going to join, with bookmakers such as BitBet having odds as short as 3/1 that the youngster would move to the Emirates this month.

The majority of reports claim we wanted him on loan, but there has been the odd rumour that we could consider a permanent deal if the price was right.

Real have been adamant they won’t consider letting the 21-year-old leave and it seems they’ve been true to their word, with Bronzetti claiming that Carlo Ancelotti recently rejected a €20m (£16.5m) offer from an unnamed English club:

“Ancelotti dotes on Morata. He’s in his plans for the future.

“So much so that a few days ago, Real said no to an offer of €20m from England.” [source: Mirror]

The likes of Liverpool and Tottenham have also been linked with Morata but nowhere near as strongly as Arsenal have so we’re probably the most likely to have made this supposed bid.

It would be a huge statement from Madrid if they did in fact turn down such an offer for a player who barely features for them in the first team.  Obviously he’s up against the likes of Ronaldo, Benzema and Bale but Ancelotti has also been playing fellow youngster Jesse ahead of Morata this season, so it’s hardly a ringing endorsement that he’s considered an important player.

Personally I’d be surprised if Wenger did table such a bid, but if he did he clearly rates the kid and that should give Morata an indication that he’d be more valued at the Emirates than he currently is in Spain, so perhaps he might push for a move.

However, even if he did it seems Madrid would block his exit as the agent went on to state that there is ‘no chance’ the La Liga giants will allow him to leave this month:

“I deny categorically [that Morata will leave].

“There’s really no chance that Morata leaves Real Madrid.

“He will remain 100%.” [source: Mirror]

So it appears we’ll have to look elsewhere if we want to sign a striker. Big names like Diego Costa are going to be almost impossible to land mid-season, so a short-term solution could be our best bet.

MORE: President denies £8m deal with Arsenal

A whole host of names are being reported in the press but only Arsene knows who he wants and he’s indicated any movement will likely be in the final 3 days of the window, so we’ll just have to sit tight and see what develops.

Who do you want us to sign this month?

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