The Gunners are refusing to sell the Chile forward
Juventus have confirmed that Arsenal have turned down their £34 million bid for Chilean forward Alexis Sanchez.
The Old Lady are in the market for a forward, after Real Madrid activated a £23 million buy-back clause for Juve striker Alvaro Morata, who Real sold to Juve in 2014.
However, their hopes of capturing Sanchez, who recently won the Copa America with Chile, were dealt a blow by the north Londoners, who are refusing to cash in on one of their star players.
“Sanchez is a great player, but Arsenal do not want to give him up.” said Juventus sporting director Giuseppe Marotta.
“We informed the Gunners, who asked for £34m – surely a reasonable fee.
“However, when we responded to this request, Arsenal told us they will not sell the player.”
It is set to be a very busy summer for the Serie A champions, who have already acquired Barcelona right-back Dani Alves on a free transfer, alongside Miralem Pjanic for £26 million from rivals AS Roma.
Meanwhile, Morata isn’t set to be Juventus’ only departure, with Manchester United set to break the bank and pay a world-record £105 million to sign their midfielder Paul Pogba.
Therefore, Sanchez was seen as an adaptable and valuable option for the Italian outfit, with the 27-year-old able to player a slightly deeper role in either attacking midfield, on the wing or up front as a striker – being able to consolidate for the likely absences of Morata and Pogba.
Arsenal are also understood to be keen on signing Morata from Real Madrid, at an inflated fee of £65 million, although some reports understand Real are now considering keeping the Spain striker, rather than offloading him, again, for a large profit.
