According to the Daily Mail, the 36-time Italian champions are keen on signing Chelsea midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek on loan until the end of the season. The Bianconeri view as the England international, who has been Thomas Tuchel’s rotational option this season, as the short-term candidate to replace Arthur Melo is on his way to sign for Arsenal in a similar deal.
Despite the persistent links,Tuchel claimed no deal is in place to take Loftus-Cheek to Juve in his recent press conference. The German, however, also stated that if a development is to take place, it will do so away from the public eye, behind closed doors.
“We haven’t talked about it. He has a lot of game time, he has a lot to fight for here if we talk about Ruben and my personal opinion. Anyway, this will happen behind closed doors. When we have something to announce, we will announce,”
the German stated.
Loftus-Cheek’s proposed move to Turin hinges on Arthur’s move to London. The Telegraph reports that Arsenal are waiting for Juventus’ approval before bringing the midfielder on loan until the end of the season.
Mikel Arteta’s team is light in midfield after losing Mohamed Elneny and Thomas Partey to the African Cup of Nations – while also sanctioning Ainsley Maitland-Niles’ loan move to AS Roma.
Furthermore, Granit Xhaka’s red card in the EFL Cup semifinal against Liverpool leaves them with just one available central midfielder – Albert Sambi Lokonga – ahead of the weekend’s North London Derby. To complete the move, Arsenal are even willing to pay Arthur’s entire wage for the time he spends at the Emirates – per the Evening Standard.
The 25-year-old midfielder, who joined Juventus from Barcelona in September 2020 as part of a dubious swap deal with Miralem Pjanic, has played just seven league games this season. While a switch to Arsenal seems to be close, it remains to be seen whether the two clubs strike an agreement over the future permanent transfer of the player – as part of the deal.
