Arsenal will reportedly face problems in their pursuit of Serie A centre-forward Patrik Schick as Sampdoria are willing to hike his release clause aiming to keep numerous top Premier League clubs away from their cherished asset.
The 21-year-old Czech international has been eye-catching this season garnering interests from many European clubs and is touted by many as the next big thing. Given his young age, this is the best time to be picked, but his parent club are in no way willing to let him go anytime soon.
Arsenal will be facing stiff competition from the likes of local rivals Chelsea and Tottenham in landing the player, but given the slump that the North London club has experienced late, they are expected to go all out in the summer for the player.
Since the likes of Thierry Henry and Dennis Bergkamp left the club, the only Arsenal forward to have come closest to them was Robin Van Persie. Apart from the Dutch forward, Arsenal have been home to the likes of Nicklas Bendtner, Marouane Chamakh, Eduard Silva, Olivier Giroud and more, who were just above average, to be honest. Giroud, though, has scored 95 goals for the club over a span of five seasons, the Frenchman isn’t effective anymore.
And Arsenal are in dire need of someone, who could not only win aerial duels but also chase defenders in a pack with Alexis Sanchez and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. Schick could surely be an exciting prospect at Arsenal and given his offensive attributes, the Gunners may have finally got their man in that role.
Schick has scored 11 goals and three assists in 28 Serie A appearances. Among top European clubs willing to have him feature Serie A defending champions Juventus. The Old Lady has been hugely impressed by his displays and would want to keep the player in Italy in future.
However, Sampdoria president Massimo Ferrero isn’t losing hope on their prized player and is reportedly willing to double is release clause to make his departure difficult. Schick’s current valuation is at £21m, which could spike up to a whopping £42m.
Ferrero told media, “His talent is endless – he’s cold, clinical and clever. Every [week] he’s getting better and better. We would like to raise or remove his release clause, I often talk with his agent and I’ll go back to it soon… I would like to bring his clause up to €50m but obviously, we need to review the boy’s contract.”
That amount will definitely be worth giving a second thought to any club. However, Sampdoria’s non-European stature makes the club a difficult destination for young talents to stay for long. And sooner or later Schick is likely to hand a transfer request with such lucrative suitors knocking at the door.
