Arsenal are trying to sign Manchester United striker Alessia Russo and our WSL rivals have made a world-record bid in attempt to secure her signature.
The England international’s current deal at Manchester United expires in the summer, with manager Marc Skinner previously stresses that the club were in talks over a new contract.
In October, Skinner responded to a question about alleged Lyon interest in Russo and the possibility that big clubs could poach top talent from United.
“One thing: we’re not a selling club,” the manager said.
“As a club we choose to make decisions on who we sell if we need to at any point. Just look at our [transfer] window just gone, that doesn’t look like a selling club to me. It looks like a club that is actually bringing seven players in, so it’s definitely not a selling club.”
The manager also expressed a desire to keep Russo, adding: “We know what we’re doing behind the scenes to try and keep Alessia here.
“Alessia is absolutely happy with what she’s doing. If we weren’t happy with Alessia, she wouldn’t be considered for teams or playing. She’s a great person who is really, really professional, a great player and someone we want to look at.
“What people probably don’t realise is negotiations just take a little bit of time. It’s not as easy as waving a magic wand. But I know the interest of us is to keep Alessia at this club and I can make sure that the fans know we’re definitely not a selling club.”
Arsenal turning their attention to Russo could see a deal happen that would significantly weaken the current United side and we’re currently on top of the WSL.
Russo has made nine appearances so far this season and scored in five of those.
According to the Athletic, the Gunners have made a world-record bid to sign Russo, although there has been no response from United.
Russo has been a sensation since she appeared in the Euro 22 winning Lionesses team and she’s been a big success since joining United in 2020. Losing a player of that calibre would be a major blow to Skinner and his team’s chances this season.
The current record belongs to Keira Walsh, who joined Barcelona from Manchester City for £400,000 last summer.
