Football
Ben Gladwell, Italy correspondent 7y

Roma rejected €40m summer bid for Kostas Manolas from Arsenal - agent

Roma defender Kostas Manolas' agent has claimed the Serie A club turned down a €40 million bid for his client from Arsenal in the summer but does not expect the Greece international to leave before the end of the season.

Manolas, 25, has been linked with a move to Manchester United this month, with The Sun speculating that the Premier League club are preparing a £47.6m offer.

Manolas' agent Ioannis Evangelopoulos, however, cannot see a move happening in January, not even if a Chinese club are willing to test Roma's resolve.

"Probably there will be something in the summer, if anything," Evangelopoulos told tuttomercatoweb.com. "In general, it's hard to make predictions in football, as it is in life. Kostas has the opportunity to play at a higher level, so I would not expect him to go to China.

"European football can offer things that money cannot buy, like fame and repute. I don't know where he would like to play, we would have to see which clubs are interested.

"Last summer, a bid of around €40m from Arsenal was turned down for Kostas. Arsenal had shown interest before, but Roma's demands were higher than the English club were willing to go."

Manolas joined Roma from Olympiakos in 2014 for €13m and has made over 100 appearances for the Serie A club, for whom he has missed only three games this season due to injury.

Roma general manager Mauro Baldissoni also appeared to rule out a January move for Manolas on Tuesday when he was confronted with United's rumoured interest.

"Where is he going?" Baldissoni told reporters. "Not as far as I'm concerned."

^ Back to Top ^