Arsenal appear to have the upper hand in the race for Yves Bissouma's signature after it has emerged the Mali international favours a switch to the Emirates over any of his other suitors.
Jose Mourinho's AS Roma have been keeping tabs on the midfielder after another stellar season in the middle of the park for Brighton & Hove Albion, but his heart seems set on a move to the Gunners.
Italian outlet Forza Roma haven't entirely given up hope however, they have claimed Mourinho's powers of persuasion could still come to the fore. The former Chelsea boss convinced Tammy Abraham to leave Stamford Bridge last summer and the striker has barely looked back.
Roma's hierarchy feel a deal for Bissouma would produce similar results, but the midfielder is not going to come cheap. The Seagulls are aiming to make at least double the £17million they paid for him, but reports elsewhere claim £50m is the absolute minimum to pry him away from the Amex.
Scouts sent by Roma to assess the 25-year-old reported back to Mourinho that Bissouma is ready to make the step up to a club playing in Europe. The Giallorossi recently won the inaugural Europa Conference League. The main obstacle in Roma's pursuit of Bissouma is that it has recently become abundantly clear the midfielder would prefer to join Mikel Arteta's men in North London - that's if his social media activity earlier this week is anything to go by.
Bissouma re-posted a short clip of one of his own performances during the Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Congo, alongside a caption posted by the original uploader that read: "For me, I think that he [Bissouma] and [Youri] Tielemans should be our priority at midfield, we must get Yves Bissouma at all costs @arsenal."
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The Brighton man did not stop at one, re-sharing another post from the same user who went under the display name of "1rafc" - the second story reading: "I've been following up on Bissouma and I think he's the one to replace Partey long-term, he's just 25."
Bissouma's commitment could not be called into question last season and in turn he helped guide Graham Potter's side to their highest ever league finish. With that being said, it is becoming increasingly clear that a lack of European football on offer is thought to be a sticking point for the midfielder.
Though Arsenal fell short in their ultimate goal of a return to the Champions League after a late capitulation last season, they are back in the Europa League and that seems to be enough for Bissouma to have his head turned.
