Arsenal Interested in £18m Italian Trio: Ogbonna, Bonucci & Ranocchia
by Alan Smith's Forehead on October 12th, 2009 352 words | 9 commentsWenger targets Italian trio.
Italy Under-21 international Angelo Ogbonna has insisted he knows nothing about reported interest from England.
The 21-year-old defender has come through the youth system at Serie B Torino and is now attracting admiring glances from both Italy and abroad.
Arsenal, who are also rumoured to be looking at Bari defenders Leonardo Bonucci and Andrea Ranocchia, are said to be leading the chase for Ogbonna.
And the Gunners’ Premier League rivals Manchester City are also thought to be showing a strong interest.
But Ogbonna insists he knows nothing about all the current speculation.
“All this talk is paper talk, I don’t know anything about it,” he said.
“People talk about those teams because I am told I will do well in that league and I am built for that league, but let’s wait and see.
“I am happy in Torino at the moment, but teams like Arsenal and Man City are very big teams attractive to any youngsters.”
Despite making his Under-21 bow for Italy, the nation of his birth, Nigeria are still hoping Ogbonna will switch international allegiance to them. (Sky Sports)
I think the key part of the comments from this up and coming Italian defender is his closing line, where he basically says he is very interested in joining either of the Premier League sides who have shown a reported interest.
Wenger is definitely beginning to putting more emphasis on his Italian scouting network of late, perhaps he believes that unearthing young talents in Serie A and B will be a cheaper proposition than from La Liga or indeed the French leagues.
He has recently found that when attempting to bring in talent from his homeland, Arsene is invariably handed a hugely inflated price, as noted in the recent attempts to sign Marouane Chamakh and Blaise Matuidi, two players that our boss was interested in but decided to give up on because of crazy valuations. Although I expect that Chamakh will be back on the radar when his Bordeaux contract runs out this summer.
By all accounts the Bari centre back pair are both good players with a lot of potential.
Related Posts:
Arsenal Close In On £6m Starlet Ogbonna: One of Italy’s Brightest Talents
anonymous - October 12th, 2009 at 6:53 pm
i think they are good players but they could be used as understudies to gallas and vermaelen for the future
anonymous - October 12th, 2009 at 7:25 pm
Who may I ask,sits at home and makes these stories up!!
anonymous - October 12th, 2009 at 9:09 pm
Somebody, dear sir, must keep his job, so Barca WILL continue to PURSUE or CHASE Fabregas, Arsenal will continue to chase players we dont need and who know nothing of our interest in them except for ‘paper talk’;all these because somebody somewhere must retain their jobs.Brace up, cos they wont stop!!!
anonymous - October 12th, 2009 at 10:03 pm
Do you really think Wenger is going to buy all these youngsters when he himself admitted not so long ago that his squad was pretty much perfect? Granted, I don’t agree with him, but to continually repeat this rumour because two players in a relatively unspectacular Bari side are playing well and are young? That’s stupidity and a lack of news.
Besides, Djourou is progressing quickly as one of the best young central defenders (Note: I said one of, not “the”. After all, the best young centre-back going is Pique). Moreover, it would seem that Wenger’s scouts are appearing increasingly at Velez games and would indicate that he’s looking at Nicolas Otamendi (another incredible young central defender), probably as a replacement for the ageing Silvestre.
anonymous - October 13th, 2009 at 2:19 am
Wenger doesn’t do Italian.
anonymous - October 13th, 2009 at 6:57 am
he did mannone! lol and y’all liked it.
anonymous - October 13th, 2009 at 5:39 pm
ahhahahahahah as if quality italians are gonna go play in the chav league !
anonymous - October 13th, 2009 at 5:40 pm
sorry mr frog…you have to look elsewhere
anonymous - November 6th, 2009 at 2:06 am
Understandies to Vermelan and Gallas for the future! These guys arn’t kids, Bonucci and Ranocchia are playing week in and week out for Bari and have the best defensive record in Serie A. While Vermelan has been a success for arsenal this season these guys easily triump Gallas in terms of substance and style. Ranocchia in particular is cast straight from the Nesta mould and for his age is the most cultured young defender around. I can’t guage the quality of this rumour but arsenal fans shouldn’t bash these players on account of the rumour mill