Juventus eyeing summer approach for Henrikh Mkhitaryan
Juventus have been linked with a move for former Manchester United and Arsenal attacking midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan, who has rediscovered his best form with current club Roma this season but is out of contract in the summer.
Juve have been keeping tabs on Mkhitaryan for years and were interested in a move for the Armenia international during his time with Borussia Dortmund. Now might finally be their opportunity to get him, even at the age of 32, if he doesn’t agree a new deal with Roma.
Having traded north London for the Italian capital on a permanent basis in 2020 when his Arsenal contract was cancelled by mutual consent, Mkhitaryan has put a disappointing spell in English football behind him to get 21 combined goals and assists in 26 appearances this season.
He was starting to show his best form on loan with Roma last season after an injury hit first half of the campaign and they are the kind of numbers he hasn’t put up since his Dortmund days, where he made an astonishing 55 goal contributions in 2015/16 before joining Manchester United.
Claims originating from Italy suggest that while Roma are confident of reaching an agreement with Mkhitaryan and his agent Mino Raiola, Juventus continue to ‘lurk’ in the background and could pounce if there is any indication that talks won’t be successful.
Roma are thought to have an option that allows them to trigger an extension on the same terms he is currently on, a reported €3m salary plus bonuses, although the situation appears to be slightly more complicated and may still require an agreement from all sides.
Roma general manager Tiago Pinto has already said there will be ‘no problem’ in that respect. But Juve’s relationship with Raiola could become a factor if Mkhitaryan is to move on.
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