AS Roma star Kostas Manolas will only join Chelsea or Arsenal for a fee of around £32.75m, as per Pagine Romaniste.
The Greek international centre-back has agreed a new contract with the Italian Serie A side which has a buyout clause, and offers could be coming for him in January or summer as a result, claims talkSPORT.
European heavyweights Juventus and Russian side Zenit St. Petersburg have also been heavily linked with Kostas, whose recent deal has earned him a pay rise from £2.5million to £3.1million.
AS Roma’s sporting director has claimed the buyout clause would only be active for non-Italian teams, which is a delightful news for the Gunners and the Blues given their interest over the summer according to reports.
The North Londoners are undoubtedly blessed with options at the back this season – Germany international duo of Per Mertesacker and Shkodran Mustafi, France defender Laurent Koscielny, English duo of Rob Holding and Calum Chambers, Spaniard Nacho Monreal – but with France international defender Koscielny now 32-year-old, center-half Per Mertesacker retiring at the end of the season, and Calum Chambers & Rob Holding struggling for game time, a new central defender might be required.
It’s not known if Arsenal would be willing to pay above £30million for the 26-year-old, however.
