West Ham Intends To Buy Juventus Midfielder Arsenal's Target

Juventus player Manuel Locatelli. (Photo: Twitter/@JuventusFC)

JAKARTA - West Ham United made Arsenal nervous. The intention to buy Juventus midfielder Manuel Locatelli could fail to materialize.

The reason is, West Ham has reportedly prepared an offer worth 35 million to bring Locatelli. They want to strengthen midfield after Declan Rice's departure.

West Ham initially showed they could survive after losing Rice. The Hammers made a solid start in the English Premier League as well as European competition.

However, David Moyes' troops lost in the last two matches. This is what makes Moyes begin to consider needing new players, especially in midfield.

Previously West Ham had brought in James Ward-Prowse and Edson Alvarez. However, it turns out that the presence of the two is not enough.

For this reason, the club wants to invest by buying Locatelli from Italian Serie A giants, according to local media, Tutto Mercato.

The report believes West Ham's offer will likely be rejected by Juventus because they want to keep the player. Moreover, the new contract is ready to be offered.

Apart from West Ham, Arsenal is also looking at Locatelli. Rice's arrival did not seem to satisfy the manager, Mikel Arteta.

In fact, reportedly, the Gunners had already looked at Locatelli in early 2023. However, at that time the player refused to move to Emirates for loving Juventus.

This was conveyed by his older brother, Mattia, to Calcio Mercato. "I still remember negotiations with Juventus. There is also Arsenal, but he wants Juventus," he said.

"He gave everything for Juventus. He loves the club. Manuel is very happy to be there," continued Mattia.

However, West Ham didn't have a chance. The English club could convince the player to get bigger challenges.