Felipe Melo’s agent has denied advanced negotiations with Juventus, leaving the door wide open for Arsenal to close the deal with Fiorentina.
There were reports that the Brazilian had reached an agreement with Juve, but the Viola reacted angrily by releasing an official statement on their website.
It noted that Arsenal were the “only club” to make an offer anywhere near the £21m buy-out clause and that any other sides would have to pay the full sum to take him.
“There are no negotiations between us and other clubs for Felipe Melo,” declared agent Jose Rodriguez Baster.
“If a side is interested in the player, then first they must present an offer to Fiorentina. We will not negotiate with anyone until they have reached an agreement with the Viola.”
It is believed that director of sport Pantaleo Corvino issued the damning statement in order to silence talk of a deal with Juventus.
Meanwhile, they have asked Arsenal for cash plus full-back Emmanuel Eboue in order to hand Melo over to the Emirates club.
“There is a lot of talk about Felipe now because as well as playing an excellent season, he got himself noticed in the Confederations Cup,” added agent Baster.
“Having said that, we are not in talks, nor have we been negotiating, with anyone.”
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