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Arsenal’s £35m defender bid rejection: Agent explains what happened
ARSENAL had a £35m bid for Roma defender Kostas Manolas knocked back, according to his agent.
Kostas Manolas - 5 things you need to know
Arsenal were linked with the 25-year-old during the last window, but failed to bring him to the Emirates.
Instead, they snapped up Shkodran Mustafi for a fee of £35m.
Chelsea have also been keeping tabs on the Greece international, with Antonio Conte eager to shore up his defence despite recalling Nathan Ake from his loan spell at Bournemouth.
Arsenal were rebuffed in their attempts to sign Kostas Manolas last summer
Arsenal signed Shkodran Mustafi instead
Arsenal failed with their £35m bid for Kostas Manolas
And Manolas’ agent, Ioannis Evangelopoulos, has revealed why a deal never materialised.
“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 Greek radio station Sport FM.
“Roma refused an almost €40m offer from Arsenal for Kostas in the summer.
Arsenal won't now let Per Mertesacker leave on loan this month
“The Gunners were really interested but Roma's demands exceeded what they were willing to pay.”
Arsenal meanwhile, have changed their mind, and aren’t considering letting Per Mertesacker go out on loan this month.
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