Juventus near deal to raise more funds for Van Persie assault
Published:Antonio Conte has already raised some funds this summer through the sales of Milos Krasic and Eljero Elia and a third midfielder is on the brink of leaving Juventus, which could free up the money needed to sign Robin Van Persie.
Some €15m has already been acquired jointly through the departures of Elia to Werder Bremen and Krasic to Fenerbahce and it is Felipe Melo that is closing in on joining the Serbian in Turkey.
Melo enjoyed a productive loan stint at Galatasaray last season and was fully expected to make the deal permanent this summer.
However, the Turkish champions have struggled to agree on a fee with Juventus and it initially seemed that any possible deal was off, until negotiations were re-opened in recent days.
Juventus are determined to get €8m for the Brazilian and this is a price that Galatasaray are now prepared to pay.
The signings of Olivier Giroud and Lukas Podolski have given Arsenal some attacking cover if Van Persie did leave, while the expected capture of Santi Cazorla from Malaga would provide further attacking impetus.
With the risk of losing him for free next summer, these signings may make Arsenal more likely to cash in before the start of this season, especially if Juventus do make an offer in the region of £20m.
Reports have indicated that Juventus would be willing to pay Van Persie £190,000 a week and the Dutchman seemingly remains their chief transfer target as Conte looks for more competition in attack with Alessandro Matri and Mirko Vucinic.
If Arsenal were to lose Van Persie, it is almost certain they would rather he left for Italy than to Premier League champions Manchester City and some speculation has indicated that Juventus have been quoted a lower transfer price as a result.
Arsenal are still odds-on at 8/13 to finish in the top four of the Premier League this season and this would look a decent price if they manage to retain Van Persie’s services.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.
