Arsenal target Jose Gimenez wants to leave Atletico Madrid, according to reports in Spain.
The 21-year-old defender has been hampered with a hamstring injury for most of the campaign so far which has restricted him to just two appearances for Ateltico.
His last game for Diego Simeone’s side was in their 1-0 La Liga win over Deportiv La Coruna on September 25th.
However, the Uruguay international was fit and ready to be selected for their latest La Liga clash against fierce-rivals Real Madrid on Saturday. But Simeone opted to go with Stefan Savic starting the game instead.
And following Simeone’s decision to leave out Gimenez on Saturday, Spanish publication Don Balon now claim the young defender wants to leave Atletico when the January transfer window opens.
Gimenez was recently linked with a move to Arsenal and Manchester United beforehand, and is thought to have a £54 million buyout clause in his current contract at the Vicente Calderon.
Earlier reports claimed Arsenal are only willing to offer £26 million for the Uruguayan’s services, while United have been linked with a £50 million offer.
News of Gimenez’s reported unhappiness under Simeone this season will be a major boost for both Arsenal and United who could acquire him as early as January.
Some will believe Arsenal could do with another centre-back coming in this January, and with Per Mertesacker’s future in doubt and Gabriel yet to settle at the club, a move for Gimenez would make sense.
However, the £54 million buyout clause would be a stumbling block for any future bid. Despite the defender’s ability and potential, would Arsene Wenger really splash out the required fee to sign Gimenez in January? Doubtful.
But Wenger has proved in recent transfer windows that he is not afraid to spend big money for the right player. Perhaps he could do it again this January, this time for Gimenez.
