Arsenal Transfer News: Marco Verratti a Perfect, Unlikely January Target

Arsenal have reportedly been placed on high alert as transfer target Marco Verratti's agent confirmed Real Madrid tried to sign his client during the summer, but while the Italian would be an excellent signing for the Gunners, a move appears highly unlikely.

As reported by the Daily Express' Anthony Chapman, Donato Di Campli told reporters Real tried to sign him, but failed to live up to Paris Saint-Germain's demands:

"

Did Real Madrid try to sign Verratti? You could say that, yes.

Madrid made an offer for Marco, but PSG had their demands and the clubs didn't reach an agreement, so we didn't do anything more.

This is why Marco stayed put and still plays with PSG.

"

Di Campli was very careful in his choice of words, not making any mention of whether Verratti was keen on a move—all he said was that the approach was made, and Los Blancos couldn't convince PSG to sell.

Verratti has blossomed into a superstar in Paris, with the kind of game that is very reminiscent of former Real legend Xabi Alonso. As a deep-lying playmaker, he combines great vision and superb passing skills to help in the buildup play and holds his own defensively.

As shared by WhoScored.com, his passing range was on display at the 2014 World Cup:

The Italian international is surprisingly solid on the defensive end, given his slight frame and lack of height. Like Alonso, his game isn't built around tackling—he'll position himself to intercept passes and put pressure on the man with the ball, launching swift counter-attacks as you can see in the video below.

The 21-year-old is one of the biggest talents to emerge from the Italian Serie A in years and plenty of pundits were surprised to see him choose an adventure abroad over a career with Juventus, where he could learn from the mercurial Andrea Pirlo.

Les Bleus offered him far more playing time, however, and his development in the past two seasons has been sensational as a result. There's little doubt he could shine in the Premier League, and at the heart of Arsenal's midfield proceedings, he could work perfectly with strong runners like Aaron Ramsey next to him.

The chances of Arsenal actually landing him are small, however. The list of Italian players trying their hand at the Premier League is remarkably short when compared to other nations like Spain or Germany.

Verratti's perfectly satisfied in Paris. The French champions have played a big role in his development and at no point in the past two years have they given any indication they might favour another option in his position.

In fact, Goal.com's Robin Bairner claimed Verratti is on the verge of signing a new deal with Les Parisiens:

Even when rumours started circulating PSG could look to swap him for longtime target Paul Pogba, he told La Gazzetta dello Sport he had full confidence in the club, per Gianluca Di Marzio's David Amoyal:

Arsenal are a financially healthy club, but they don't boast the riches of PSG or Real. If Los Blancos couldn't make an offer to tempt the French club into a sale, it seems very unlikely Arsene Wenger could trump their efforts.

Verratti is a phenomenal player, and Arsenal's reported interest in his services is more than understandable. But unless something drastically changes in the next four months, don't expect the Italian to move to the Emirates anytime soon.

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