With just one year left on his current contract at Arsenal, Aaron Ramsey is attracting interest from some of the top clubs around Europe.
Barcelona and Lazio are two significant parties interested, with Chelsea reportedly interested in lining up a bid in January should neither a contract extension nor an approach from a foreign team come into fruition. The Chinese Super League has also
The Mirror is the primary instigator to suggest Ramsey could follow the path of Lineker and Hughes and become just the fifth Brit to move to the Nou Camp.
Though clubs in the English league cannot purchase any more players now that the window is shut, they are still able to transfer players out to a club in any league whose window is still open.
Meanwhile, The Sun asserts that Arsenal are confident the Welshman will sign a new contract.
But this is football, and anything can happen, so we’re taking a look at some of the potential replacements new Gunners manager Unai Emery could opt for.
Claudio Marchisio
Not necessarily a long-term option but one who would bring a heft of experience to an Arsenal team still trying to find an identity, this could be an immediate choice after Marchisio ended his 25 year relationship with Serie A champions Juventus this week.
Similar to Ramsey not just in playing style but also his being prone to injury, the 32 year-old midfielder could provide the necessary balance in a long season ahead before trying to find a more permanent option next summer.
The Italian made a total of 389 appearances for the Bianconeri, contributing 37 goals, and being rewarded with 55 caps for the Italian national team.
Marco Verratti
A speculated long-term target for Premier League rivals Manchester United, the 25 year-old from Paris Saint-Germain wouldn’t come cheap if a reunion with former manager Emery is , and Arsenal would need to break the bank to make this transfer a reality in a move that would undoubtedly appease the still-restless fans in N7.
As no Ligue 1 player has registered more touches or passes since Verratti joined PSG in 2012, the Italian would more than match Ramsey for passing ability and likes to collect a yellow card on occasion as well.
‘It’s very difficult to find another player like him in world’, Emery would comment during his tenure in the French capital ‘His qualities are amazing’.
New signing Lucas Torreira has also signalled his admiration for the player dubbed ‘The Owl of Manoppello’.
Sergej Milinković-Savić
An absolutely astronomical long-shot, but if Arsenal wanted to re-assert themselves amongst the big boys, negotiating some sort of compromise with Serie A club Lazio with Ramsey moving the other way would be the way to do it.
Acquiring the Serb- currently one of the hottest properties in continental football- in a likely player + cash deal would be a major coup of unprecedented proportions and really baptise Emery’s reign in North London.
Milinković-Savić has the added advantage of operating as a utility man and shifting back more into a defensive midfield role, but to unleash the 23 year-old’s true potential would be placing him in the more attacking role.
A double-barrelled forward line-up of Milinković-Savić behind Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang would be seriously imposing.
James Maddison
Arsenal will find it nigh on impossible to bring Maddison to the Emirates as soon as January after the 21 year-old only this summer completed a £25 million move from Norwich to Leicester City.
No other player made more key passes in the Championship last season and should Maddison effectively make the step up to the top tier over the course of the next nine months at the King Power Stadium, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see the Englishman attracting interest from clubs who are currently the likely candidates to be pushing Europe.
