Arsenal are leading the race to sign Manuel Locatelli after lodging a "concrete bid" to sign the highly-rated midfielder this summer.
Locatelli, who is currently playing in the European Championships with Italy, was expected to join Serie A giants Juventus this summer - but Arsenal have sensationally hijacked that move.
The 23-year-old Sassuolo midfielder was a revelation for the club in Italy last season and their sporting director, Giovanni Carnevali, has confirmed that the Gunners are the leading contender to sign their star man.
"Juventus are the only Italian club we talked to about Locatelli," Carnevali told Sky Sports in Italy.
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"We met last week with [Juventus sporting director Federico] Cherubini.
"There is interest from their side, we haven't explored all the terms and evaluations, but we have an excellent relationship with Juventus so we will continue these talks.
"It's true that other clubs from abroad are interested, Arsenal are one of these and they are ahead of everyone else because they tabled the only concrete offer we have received so far."
With two goals under his belt already, Locatelli has played an integral part in Italy's progress to the quarter-finals of Euro 2020 after replacing the injured Marco Verratti.
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Juventus were close to signing the young prospect last season, with Sassuolo slapping a £34m price tag on him.
Only time will tell to see where Locatelli will be playing his football next season - especially after Arsenal failed to qualify for Europe.
The Gunners are almost close to completion with Ben White set to join from Brighton & Hove Albion, whist Albert Sambi Lokonga and Nuno Tavares are set to be brought in from Anderlecht and Benfica respectively.
Featured Image Credit:Topics: Arsenal