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Journalist Jack Pitt-Brooke has claimed that Arsenal could have signed Tottenham winger Dejan Kulusevski during the January transfer window, but Juventus opted to accept Spurs' offer instead.
Speaking on The View from The Lane podcast, Pitt-Brooke said that the Gunners wanted to bring in Kulusevski on loan without an option to buy. However, Juventus wanted to add an option or an obligation to buy at the end of the loan term, which Tottenham agreed to. He said:
"Arsenal were really close to getting Kulusevski on loan. They’d been speaking to Juventus but they couldn’t agree a deal because Juventus wanted more guarantees in terms of an option or obligation, which Arsenal didn’t want to do."
Despite having played a decent amount of games under Massimiliano Allegri at Juventus during the first half of the 2021-22 campaign, Kulusevski could not force his way into the starting lineup and decided to depart the club in January.
Kulusevski joined Tottenham on loan in January for a fee of £8.5 million, which will later rise to £35 million once Spurs make his move permanent. The Swede was a huge success at the club and helped Antonio Conte's side finish 4th in the Premier League above the Gunners. The winger ended the season with five goals and eight assists in 18 league games, while being touted as one of the signings of the season.
"Arsenal just wanted the loan" - Pitt-Brooke on how Kulusevski joined Tottenham
Pitt-Brooke also stated that Fabio Paratici was instrumental in bringing in Kulusevski during January. The Spurs sporting director brought the winger to Juventus during his time at the Bianconeri and was keen to do the same, with the Swede more than ready to join the club. He said:
“Arsenal just wanted the loan, so that move stalled. And then Paratici – who’s obviously been a huge fan of Kulusevski his whole career – he came in, he managed to do a more amenable deal to Juventus. And Kulusevski was delighted to go to Tottenham. He wanted to come here and work with Conte. But if Paratici hadn’t come in, maybe Arsenal would have come in and done a deal.”
