Exclusive: Arsenal & Manchester City set for January transfer battle over €50m-rated star | OneFootball

Manchester City and Arsenal both have Torino’s talented young midfielder Samuele Ricci on their transfer lists for January, CaughtOffside understands.

The Italy international has impressed in Serie A and Torino are now anticipating offers of around €50million for him when the transfer window opens again in January, with particular interest from the Premier League.

Man City have issues in midfield at the moment after the lengthy injury to Rodri, who will surely need replacing as he’s expected to miss the rest of the season, with Ricci looking an ideal like-for-like alternative in that position.

Ricci is also firmly on Arsenal’s list as they keep an eye on the midfielder market, with Atalanta star Ederson also recently mentioned as a possible Gunners target.

Samuele Ricci transfer: Will he move to Arsenal or Manchester City?

Samuele Ricci in action for Torino (Photo by Diego Puletto/Getty Images)

It will be interesting to see how this saga pans out, with Ricci surely too good to stay at Torino for much longer as he looks like a player with a big future in the game, and like someone who can have a big impact for an elite club.

CaughtOffside understands, however, that one issue could come with negotiations, as both Arsenal and City are felt to value the 23-year-old at around €30m, so it remains to be seen if a compromise can be struck on the €50m-rated playmaker.

Arsenal could likely offer Ricci a long-term role as a key player in their side, with Mikel Arteta surely in need of a long-term replacement for ageing duo Jorginho and Thomas Partey, both of whom are coming towards the ends of their contracts next summer.

City, meanwhile, might only want Ricci as cover for Rodri, so it remains to be seen if he’d be tempted to move to the Etihad Stadium if he were only to then later make way for Rodri once he returns to fitness.