Arsenal defender Takehiro Tomiyasu is supposedly giving consideration to an exit from the Emirates Stadium in January amid his injury torment.
The Japan international took no time at all to settle into life in the Premier League in 2021, quickly winning over the fans and providing Mikel Arteta with a versatile defensive option.
However, Tomiyasu has consistently struggled to stay fit while in North London, and he is yet to play a single minute of football in the 2024-25 campaign due to a knee injury sustained in pre-season.
The 25-year-old's poor injury record did not prevent Arsenal from extending his contract earlier this year, although he only signed on the dotted line for a further two seasons, with an option until 2027.
The Gunners have coped just fine in Tomiyasu's absence so far this season, though, only conceding one goal in their first five games across all competitions, and Arteta has Riccardo Calafiori and Jurrien Timber competing for minutes at left-back.
Arsenal's Tomiyasu 'wanted by three Serie A clubs'
© Imago
William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes have also formed an unbreakable central pairing, while the consistent Ben White is Arteta's undisputed first-choice right-back when fully fit.
As a result, The Sun claims that Tomiyasu would not be averse to leaving the club in the January transfer window, and a trio of Serie A giants are keen to bring him back to Italy.
All of Napoli, Juventus and reigning Italian champions Inter Milan have reportedly taken an interest in Tomiyasu, who joined the Gunners from Bologna in a £15.6m deal in the summer of 2021.
The Nerazzurri are said to be leading the race for the Japan international, whom Arsenal are hopeful of selling for around £25m if they do decide to part ways with their injury-plagued defender.
However, a separate update from journalist Ekrem Konur claims that Arteta does not want to lose Tomiyasu in January, in spite of his fitness issues, and it would take an "astronomical" bid for Arsenal to consider a sale.
🚨🆕 #ArsenalUpdate 🇯🇵
— Ekrem KONUR (@Ekremkonur) September 19, 2024
Despite rumors, Arsenal does not plan to sell 25-year-old Japanese defender Takehiro Tomiyasu in January.
❌ Spanish coach Mikel Arteta is pleased with the Japanese player's performance and is not open to selling him unless an astronomical offer comes... pic.twitter.com/ywAnwMD8Li
Tomiyasu has registered two goals and six assists from 83 matches in a Gunners shirt over the past three years, but he has also missed 48 games for club and country over the past three seasons.
Should Arsenal consider selling Tomiyasu in January?
Just when the 25-year-old appears to be stringing a consistent run of games together in an Arsenal shirt, injury cruelly strikes, and Arteta cannot expect him to be around for 45-50 games of a season.
The Spaniard is certainly not short of options to cover for Tomiyasu at the back, but not all of them are in the Saliba, Gabriel and Calafiori bracket, as Oleksandr Zinchenko is also injury-prone and is often singled out for a lack of defensive awareness.
Jakub Kiwior has also been left out in the cold and could move on as early as January, so it would make no sense for Arsenal to also consider offloading Tomiyasu, who can play anywhere across the backline.
However, the situation must be re-addressed next summer, when Tomiyasu will enter the last 12 months of his Arsenal deal if his extension is not triggered, so a sale in 2025 is a real possibility.
Ben Knapton
