Arsenal target Thomas Partey ‘tells pals he’s keen on £45m Gunners transfer from Atletico Madrid

ARSENAL target Thomas Partey has reportedly told friends that he's keen on sealing a move to the Emirates this summer.

claim the midfielder, who has a £45million release clause in his contract at Atletico Madrid, is hopeful a deal with the Gunners can be struck.

The Ghanaian has been made a priority target by Mikel Arteta this summer, with the Spaniard desperate on adding more defensive cover to his central midfield.

Yet Arsenal's already limited budget was further hit following the coronavirus pandemic meaning the club may have to sacrifice at least one of four players to sign Partey.

Among those is striker Alexandre Lacazette, who Atletico are said to be interested in signing in order to solve their goalscoring woes.

Meanwhile, Arsenal are still facing a summer tug-of-war for Partey, with Juventus and Bayern are also eager to prise away Atleti's No5, as well as Manchester United.

Rio Ferdinand has urged his former club to press ahead with a move.

But the 26-year-old's agents were recently forced to apologise after uploading a social media post asking fans to vote on his next club.

It was previously reported that Arsenal's hopes of landing the holding midfielder this summer rest on their bid to qualify for the Champions League.

Partey himself came in for particular praise for his performances in the European competition during Atletico's 4-2 aggregate win over Liverpool.