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Transfer news: Arsenal linked with surprise move to sign £62m star
According to shock reports coming out of Italy, Arsenal are eyeing an audacious move to sign AC Milan goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma as Unai Emery looks to replace Petr Cech this summer.
Emery is expected to be busy over the coming months as he continues to reshape the squad he inherited from Arsene Wenger and a new goalkeeper is on the agenda as Cech will retire when his contract runs out next month.
Some fans expect Arsenal to go with the cheap option and simply promote Emi Martinez to the No.2 position behind Bernd Leno but the papers continue to link us with several goalkeepers throughout Europe.
The latest name to be linked is Donnarumma with TeamTalk citing Tuttomercatoweb as claiming that Arsenal have identified the AC Milan sensation as a potential replacement for Cech.
Donnarumma is one of the most highly rated young goalkeepers in the world and he’s already racked up over 140 appearances for Milan since making his debut aged just 16 so he’d obviously be a great addition to the squad.
However, there is virtually no chance the Italian international will join Arsenal this summer. Firstly, the report says Donnarumma is keen to stay in Milan so we’ll struggle to lure him to North London even if he does leave Italy this summer.
But most importantly, is his valuation. The San Siro giants may have to sell some of their key players to balance the books and meet Financial Fair Play after missing out on Champions League qualification but TMW suggest they want £62m for Donnarumma.
Emery will have around £40m to spend if we don’t beat Chelsea in tomorrow’s final so we simply can’t afford him. Even if our budget increased to £100m by qualifying for the Champs League, there is virtually no way we’d spend £62m on a keeper.
Leno has been excellent in recent months so Arsenal just need a No.2 to support him. Therefore, it would make no sense spending the majority/all of our transfer budget on Donnarumma.
I think it’s safe to file this piece of transfer news in the ‘never gonna happen’ folder.