Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta is believed to be considering a move for Fulham midfielder Joao Palhinha, which could spell the end of Thomas Partey's Emirates stay.
Arteta has made a new central midfielder one of his priority additions ahead of the January transfer window and several names have been linked. Aston Villa's Douglas Luiz was one of the first talents to be touted with a switch to north London, but attention has since turned to Palhinha after an impressive start to the season with the Cottagers.
Palhinha has already come close to leaving Fulham once, when German giants Bayern Munich reached an agreement with the west Londoners worth £55million, only for the deal to collapse when Marco Silva's side couldn't find a replacement. Though Bayern are still keen, Arsenal have now entered the race for the midfielder's signature.
As a result, Thomas Partey's Gunners career has been plunged into fresh doubt. The Ghana international was rumoured to be heading for the Emirates exit last summer, with Juventus reportedly keen, but he ended up staying put.
However, amid yet another lengthy spell on the sidelines with an injury, there is mounting belief that Arteta could grow tired of not being able to rely on Partey and cut all ties if he can get another midfield talent through the door.
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Palhinha certainly won't come cheap and Arsenal already spent heavily in the summer. £105million on Declan Rice back in July means the Gunners don't have an overwhelming amount in the transfer kitty mid-way through the season.
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Joao Palhinha is attracting interest from Arsenal as well as Bayern Munich (Andrew Redington/Getty Images)With that being said, Arsenal's sporting director Edu issued an interesting update on Tuesday night when quizzed on the club's January plans. The Brazilian told Amazon Prime: "To work for a football club like Arsenal, it is always busy, isn’t it?
"You need to put in a lot of effort and energy and dedicate a lot of time, but of course in January and the summer, it does intensify a bit. We are prepared.
"We have big people around the club to support me and the decisions. We always have our targets - it is important to be prepared for every single scenario - that is very important."
If Arsenal are serious about trying to lure Palhinha away from Fulham in January, the most obvious route to generating the funds could well be cashing in on Partey.
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