Arsenal was scouting AS Roma’s defender Kostas Manolas last summer, but a deal failed to occur due to financial disagreements. Manolas was Arsene Wenger’s first choice for a defender during the beginning of 2016-17 campaign, but the bid was eventually rejected by Roma. According to The Sun, a bid of £35m was refused by the Serie A giants last Summer, which led to Arsenal eventually opting for Shkodran Mustafi.
Manolas’ agent, Ioannis Evangelopoulos has hinted that the Gunners among others, are still interested in the 25-year-old but no official move has been made in January.
“I cannot say where Kostas would like to play but it will be interesting to see which teams will come knocking for him,” Evangelopoulos told The Sun.
“Roma refused an almost £35m offer from Arsenal for Kostas in the summer.”
“The Gunners were really interested but Roma’s demands exceeded what they were willing to pay.”
Evangelopoulos further added it is unlikely for Manolas to leave Roma for any other club either this month.
“A transfer in January? There is no news there,” added the agent.
While this is a good news for Wenger, missing out on the defender wasn’t really a loss for Arsenal, considering Mustafi has done exceptionally well at the Emirates so far and has been a decent addition to the squad.
