In shocking news, Italian side Torino has claimed that Arsenal had tabled a bid of £56m for their star striker Andrea Belotti and the Italian club had downright rejected the offer, as they have no intention of parting ways with the forward.
The claim was made by the club’s sporting director Gianluca Petrachi. He told Sky in Italy: “We received and refused a €65m (£56m) offer from Arsenal for Andrea Belotti, but it does not reflect the value of the player. We intend to keep Belotti and president Urbano Cairo signed this important buy-out clause. I think he’s worth more than they have offered.”
According to the same Sky sources though, Arsenal have however disagreed on the fact that they had placed any such bid. Now, Arsenal seems, to be honest in their disagreement. The Gunners are known for their frugal-mindedness in the transfer market and there is absolutely no way they would offer such a huge bid for an unproven prospect.
Although Belotti is quite in-from in the Serie A, the 23-year-old is yet to prove himself at the highest of levels. He has scored 17 goals in 21 matches for club and country this season. He has been capped five times by Italy. Here are 3 alternatives, Arsenal could go for instead of Belotti.
Moussa Marega
In his work rate, Marega is pretty similar to that of Alexis Sanchez. He has been linked with Premier League clubs like Sunderland, West Ham United, Stoke City and more. He is currently on loan to Vitoria de Guimaraes from FC Porto and given his impressive display, it would be difficult to tempt FC Porto into selling him.
Marega is more known for his brute force in front of the goal and at 183cm, he could also be a decent aerial threat. He can work hard throughout the game and possesses a high stamina, which makes him a great option for the Premier League. Like Giroud, he could also be used as a target man for holding the ball up front.
Lorenzo Insigne
This 25-year-old Italian has drawn attention from Liverpool and Chelsea in the past and his agent has also indicated that the player is on his way out of the club, Napoli. He is more of an attack-minded midfielder, who could be devastating from the wings. His pace and stamina makes him a lethal forward on the counter and could be the ideal option for Arsenal’s link-up play.
He has scored 5 goals and assisted 5 times in 16 appearances for Napoli and is in the iron-hot form currently. At 23, he has his best years ahead of him and Arsenal wouldn’t want to miss such an opportunity.
Marco Reus
Now, he has been a regular in Arsenal’s transfer list since past few seasons, but a deal has failed to materialise. Although the 27-year-old attacking midfielder’s contract at Borussia Dortmund runs out in 2019, its time he goes to a bigger stage.
He has rejected offers from many clubs in the past few seasons, but if the right offer comes, he is unlikely to deny it. He has an average passing accuracy of 74% and a shot accuracy of 50%. If Ozil is leaving, as rumours indicate, he could be a god replacement.
