Kenan Yıldız

Spalletti shuts the door in public: 'they can offer whatever they want'

Arsenal made contact with Juventus over Turkey winger Kenan Yıldız (21), identified as a left-wing option after Turkey's World Cup exit. Juventus responded that he wasn't for sale, with a fee north of €100m required (the player extended until 2030 earlier in 2026). Arsenal are moving on to other targets (Rogers, Barcola, Tzolis).

Latest development

1. 24/08 (morning)the file closes, and it is the manager who closes it.

   What was only an exploration has been answered. Asked about it on 22 August, Luciano Spalletti ruled out any sale of Kenan Yıldız in plain terms: "I experience it calmly because the player is Yıldız… they can offer whatever they want, I want to be able to field Yıldız next season." He added that the Turk is "already at the club that offers 100 million for him". The quotes are carried by ESPN, Goal and Yardbarker.

   The next day Football Italia set out the shape Arsenal's approach had taken: an informal offer of Gabriel Martinelli plus cash, sourced to HandOfArsenal. Juventus turned it down. now.arsenal, citing The Athletic, describe the same package as an informal proposal that has gone nowhere.

   What is established: the manager's public refusal, a contract running to 2030, the number 10 shirt. What is not: that Arsenal ever tabled a formal bid — no top-tier source says so. The entry moves from weak rumour to cooled. This is not Arsenal walking away, it is the seller closing the door, eight days from the deadline. It reopens if Juventus change their minds; nothing suggests they will.

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2. 21/08 (morning)a swap idea involving Martinelli, and a flat no.

   The story resurfaces in a new shape: Arsenal are said to be exploring a player-plus-cash package, with Gabriel Martinelli as the makeweight, to offset Juventus' valuation (Turkish Football, GiveMeSport, Football365). The answer from Turin is blunt: according to La Stampa, via Yahoo Sports, Juventus would only look at an offer well beyond €100m, and their executives have told Arsenal's intermediaries that Yıldız is "unsellable". The club have just handed him the number 10 shirt and extended his contract to 2029.

   What is established: nothing more than an exploration, reported by second-tier outlets. What is not: any formal club-to-club contact — neither Ornstein, nor Romano, nor Sky cover this one. The status does not move: weak rumour.

   The file was shelved in July, with Juventus refusing to sell below €100m. It resurfaced after Vinícius Júnior's contract renewal: SportBible, Yahoo Sports and several Arsenal sites wrote on 8 August that Arsenal are considering a fresh approach for the Turkish winger, with a figure of around £85m mentioned. A note of caution: no top-tier source confirms club-to-club contact, and the £85m number circulates unattributed. The entry is therefore reclassified as a WEAK RUMOUR, no more. The logic still holds: Romano lists a winger among the last two priorities of the summer, and Arsenal have lost out on both Vinícius and Morgan Rogers.