Dembele’s hopes dashed
Arsenal’s hopes of signing Ousmane Dembele are fading after his agent insisted that the 21-year-old’s interests are best served by remaining in Spain.
The out-of-favour forward has “angered the powers-that-be” at Barcelona by failing to report for training last week, fuelling Arsenal’s hopes of signing the French World Cup winner, says The Sun.
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But according to the newspaper, Dembele is “planning on proving his commitment to the La Liga giants” - a point underlined by his agent, Moussa Sissoko, during an interview with French broadcaster RMC Sport.
“There is no doubt about his future at all,” insisted Sissoko, after being asked about the possibility of Dembele leaving the Camp Nou. “Ousmane continues to work, he is in a big club and Ernesto Valverde loves him, and he is also in the national team and [Didier] Deschamps continues to trust him.”
Nevertheless, Liverpool are also preparing to make a club-record £85m bid for Dembele in the January transfer window, claims The Sun in a separate report.
Firpo in the Arsenal frame
Arsenal and Manchester City are both interested in Real Betis star Junior Firpo, after the left-back’s performance this season “caught the eye” of the two Premier League clubs, says talkSPORT.
Although Firpo signed a new long-term deal in the summer, Betis insisted on the inclusion of a hefty minimum fee release clause of £43.5m. But “that high figure has not put off either City or Arsenal, who are both said to be keeping close tabs on the defender’s progress in Spain”, the broadcaster claims, citing Spanish media.
Torino are also interested in signing Firpo, but talkSPORT believes the Manchester club are in the driving seat as the player’s agent is none other than Pere Guardiola, brother of Man City boss Pep.
Mancini to make January move?
The Daily Express says the Gunners have sent their scouts to give Atalanta ace Gianluca Mancini the once over, with a view to a swoop in January.
Although Arsenal have tightened up at the back since the arrival of Unai Emery, they have still leaked three times as many goals as Premier League leaders Manchester City.
Hence the interest in Mancini, a hard-nosed central defender who has been steady at the back for Italian outfit Atalanta this season.
The 22-year-old also has a knack of scoring goals from set-pieces, but if Arsenal do want to sign Mancini they will have to see off competition from Roma.
Two more defenders being watched
The Express also reports that Unai Emery is keeping his back four options open, with the Spaniard “seriously monitoring” the availability of Juventus blocker Daniele Rugani, who has also been linked with Chelsea in recent months.
Should the Blues beat the Gunners to Rugaini, that could prompt Emery’s Plan B, which is to sign Andreas Christensen from Stamford Bridge.
The Express claims that the 22-year-old Dane “isn’t happy with his lack of game time” at Chelsea and could make the move across London.