Sky Reporter Claims Barcelona Have Joined the Race for N'Zonzi as Arsenal Refuse to Pay Up
A reunion between Sevilla's Steven N'Zonzi and his former manager Unai Emery at Arsenal this summer doesn't look likely, according to Sky Sports reporter Kaveh Solhekol.
Arsenal had been one of the favourites to land the former Stoke star this summer, with N'Zonzi likely to leave Andalusia for pastures new.
However, AS Roma and Barcelona could be more likely options according to Solhekol, who claims that Arsenal's are unwilling to pay the World Cup winner's buyout clause.
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Speaking on the Transfer Talk podcast, as quoted by the Sun, Solhekol said: “Steven N'Zonzi is likely to leave Sevilla this summer. He has a £35m release clause which is too much for Arsenal at the moment.
“But Roma are looking at him as a potential replacement for Radja Nainggolan. We are also told Barcelona are interested in him.”
Previous reports suggest Arsenal's interest has already been snubbed by the player himself, with Roma now the frontrunner for N'Zonzi's services.
A former midfield enforcer at Blackburn as well as Stoke, N'Zonzi spent six year in the Premier League and three in La Liga, and was part of the French squad that won the World Cup this summer.
He is a player that new Gunners boss Emery knows well, having brought him over to Sevilla from Stoke City in 2015.
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After replacing Arsene Wenger he has kept busy over the summer beefing up the squad, landing Bernd Leno, Sokratis Papastathopoulos, Stephan Lichtsteiner, Lucas Torreira and Matteo Guendouzi so far.
The Gunners hope to wrap up their pre-season on a high note as they meet Chelsea and Lazio, before their Premier League opener against Manchester City on August 12.
