Arsenal reportedly want around €17m in order for Roma to turn Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s current loan spell into a permanent stay this summer.
The 31-year-old joined the Giallorossi on a season-long loan deal last summer, and although he has seen his campaign get disrupted by injury problems, he has contributed six goals and four assists in 20 appearances.
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Roma have a decision to make this summer though in terms of whether or not they wish to try and make the Armenian international’s stay a permanent one, but it’s now been suggested that it will cost them a hefty fee.
According to Calciomercato, it’s suggested that Arsenal’s request remains around €17m, which could be a key obstacle in itself given the financial impact of the coronavirus pandemic and depending on whether or not Roma qualify for the Champions League.
As things stand, the capital club are in fifth place and just three points adrift of Atalanta who occupy the fourth and final spot, although they have a game in hand with 13 games remaining.
However, it’s also added that the playmaker earns €7.5m-a-season at Arsenal and although his current deal with the Gunners is set to expire in 2021, it remains to be seen if Roma are willing and able to match that kind of figure if Mkhitaryan isn’t prepared to earn less at this stage of his career.
As noted by the Evening Standard, Roma boss Paulo Fonseca has insisted that Mkhitaryan wants to stay at the Stadio Olimpico, although as seen in agent Mino Raiola’s tweet below, he was keen to dismiss reports that his client had sent a message to Arsenal suggesting that his time in north London was over, as per the Metro.
In turn, there is seemingly still a lot of uncertainty over Mkhitaryan’s future, but what is arguably clearer now is the kind of money that Roma will have to put on the table to reach an agreement with Arsenal, assuming that they’ve been left convinced that a permanent deal would be smart business for them moving forward.
Mkhitaryan non ha mandato nessun messaggio all’Arsenal. Soprattutto in momenti cosi, le fake news sono assolutamente inaccettabili.
Mkhitaryan did not send any message to Arsenal. Specially in times like these, fake news are completely unacceptable. pic.twitter.com/Fyh35MdO9D
— Mino Raiola (@MinoRaiola) May 7, 2020