Arsenal leave race for Liverpool target to pursue Aston Villa star with Italian giants keen on Partey | OneFootball

Arsenal will reportedly look to replace Thomas Partey with Douglas Luiz.

Arsenal have reportedly dropped out of the race to sign Fluminese midfielder Andre and have turned their attention to Aston Villa’s Douglas Luiz.

Mikel Arteta was eager to bring Luiz to the Emirates in the summer of 2022 but left his interest too late, seeing multiple bids turned down on deadline day.

Luiz then went on to sign a new contract and certainly has kicked on since committing his future to the Midlands outfit.

This season, the Brazilian has scored five goals and provided one assist in 11 Premier League appearances.

90min reported last month that Arsenal still have Luiz on their radar with Arteta and director of football Edu Gaspar keen.

On Tuesday, Brazilian outlet UOL provided a report on Premier League interest in Fluminese youngster Andre, revealing that the Gunners are ready to drop out of the race, instead opting to pursue Luiz.

It is claimed that Arteta has ‘closely watched’ Andre for months and scouts were even in attendance to watch him win the Copa Libertadores final on Saturday.

Instead of signing the 22-year-old, Arsenal will ‘work with other options’ as Arteta looks to bolster his midfield.

Fluminese are expected to ask for €30-35million for Andre, who will be easier than Luiz to obtain.

UOL claim that Fulham are currently the ‘strongest contender from England’ to land Andre, with Liverpool also following him.

With Bayern Munich expected to return for Joao Palhinha in January after a failed deadline day move in the summer, the Brazilian is one of Marco Silva’s top targets.

Arteta appears to be in the market for a new midfielder and will surely sign one in January if he decides to sell Thomas Partey.

The Ghanaian midfielder was linked with a move to Juventus in the summer but in July, the Spanish manager insisted he wanted to keep hold of him.

“Thomas is a super important player for us and for me,” Arteta said. “I want him to be part of the team. That’s for sure.

“Every time I spoke to him and had a conversation with him he’s ready to stay with us. For me, there’s nothing there at all.”

According to Italian journalist Gianluca Di Marzio, the Old Lady want to sign a new midfielder with Paul Pogba and Nicolo Fagioli both suspended.

Juventus directors Cristiano Giuntoli and Giovanni Manna have had ‘contacts and meetings’ with the Gunners to discuss the signing of Partey.

A report from CalcioMercato.it claims that Juve are also interested in acquiring Kalvin Phillips from Manchester City.

Phillips has not started in the Premier League this season and after turning down the option to leave the Cityzens in the summer, he is expected to depart in the winter transfer window.