Sassuolo CEO Giovanni Carnevali has played down Arsenal interest in his side's prodigious forward Gianluca Scammaca, claiming that there is nothing concrete with any club for the young forward as of right now.
The 23-year-old enjoyed a strong season in green and black even as his side could only manage midtable, scoring 16 times in 36 Serie A outings.
And, in Arsenal's chase for a striker, his name has been mentioned regularly in media outlets across Italy and England, with rumours that a bid had even gone in and been rebuffed for the Italian forward.
However, speaking to Sky Sports (and relayed by Fabrizio Romano), Carnevali made it clear that nothing had been taken any further than informal talks as of yet.
'There’s nothing concrete yet for Scamacca, just some contacts with some clubs', he revealed.
'Of course, after playing with the National team the interest is now growing'
Meanwhile, Scamacca himself has claimed that he is not reading speculation about his future, focussing instead on what happens on the pitch.
'I don't read these things. Only the pitch counts. The numbers are made up by the clubs. For me, the pitch and have fun counts', he admitted.
Arsenal wary of Locatelli repeat
Mikel Arteta and Edu have been down this road before.
The Gunners have been used by Italian players and clubs to secure better deals in consecutive windows. In January, they pushed hard for Dusan Vlahovic, which eventually saw the Serbian get his dream move to Juventus.
And they have previous with Sassuolo. Last summer, following impressive showings with Italy at Euro 2020, they chased Manuel Locatelli.
'Arsenal have made an official bid for Locatelli,' Carnevali told Sky Sport Italia last August. 'They’re pushing hard to sign Manuel and it’s an important bid. We will see.'
However, come the end of the window, Locatelli ended up at Juventus, on a two-year loan with an obligation to buy. Given how rare it is to see Italians in the Premier League, they need to be wary not to let history repeat itself for a third time.