Footie Central | Football Blog Blogging the football world 
Arsenal are prepared to meet the current release clause of Atlético Madrid midfielder Thomas Partey, which currently stands at £42 million.
The 26 year old Ghana international has been at Atlético since 2011, and has made 175 appearances for them in all competitions, scoring 13 times.
He is currently in negotiations with the la Liga side about an improved new deal, which would not only see his wages rise, but also a higher release clause inserted into his contract.
That means that the Gunners are in a race against time to convince him to come to North London and leave the side where he has spent his entire professional career, apart from two loan spells when he was younger.
Partey has won the Europa League and the UEFA Super Cup with Atlético and was a Champions League runner-up three years ago. He has won 27 senior caps for Ghana, for whom he has netted 10 times.
Andy is an exiled English football fan living in Cyprus. He loves all sports but football is his abiding passion, and he still has dreams every now and then about scoring the winning goal in a Wembley Cup Final, even though his playing days are long gone. He follows most major leagues, across Europe at least, and has a favoured team in each. When he’s not watching, listening, reading or downloading podcasts about football, he spend his time worrying about his beloved Arsenal.