Juventus centre-back Daniel Rugani has been linked with a move to England and Arsenal are one of the clubs who have been heavily linked with him. The centre-back was close to moving to Chelsea in the summer, and there were strong rumours that Maurizio Sarri was keen on landing him. However, nothing materialised at that time, but the Blues are also in the mix along with Arsenal to sign this centre back in January.
The Gunners have had an excellent start to the season under Unai Emery as they have gone unbeaten for 15 games in all competitions. However, they still find themselves outside the top four, and many are saying that their defence is yet not up to the mark to challenge the likes of Manchester City or Liverpool.
Arsenal have the worst defensive record among the top five clubs at the moment as they have shipped in 15 goals so far. Other title contenders like Manchester City and Liverpool have conceded just five; therefore, one can say that the defence is one of the glaring weaknesses the London club have currently.
Rugani has failed to break into the first team regularly under Allegri, and so far he has managed just two Serie A appearances this season. The 24-year-old defender recently posted a picture on Instagram where he was seemingly taking English lessons which has added fuel about his move to the Premier League.
Chelsea are the likely the frontrunners for his signature, mainly because the Italian defender had played under Maurizio Sarri when he was on loan to Empoli, and the Italian manager has been impressed with him ever since. He tried to bring him even at Napoli but Juventus kept on thwarting away his interest.
The defender was valued at £36m in the summer, and it remains to be seen whether the Gunners would be willing to shell that kind of money in January. Arsenal’s director of football recently made it clear that he isn’t too keen on January signings so the Gunners faithful shouldn’t get their hopes up much further.
The likes of Shkodran Mustafi and Sokratis Papastathopoulos have underperformed so far, and the Gunners definitely look vulnerable at the back especially with Laurent Koscielny being out injured for a while now. Going after a centre-back makes sense and Rugani has all the capabilities of a modern-day centre-half.
Juventus have the likes of Leonardo Bonucci, Georgio Chiellini and Mehdi Benatia and as a result, Rugani has seen minimal action in the first team. We believe he can be a first choice starter at the back for a club like Arsenal and he should suit well in their system.
