Arsenal and Chelsea have learned that Inter will only sell Denzel Dumfries in the January transfer window if a huge offer arrives. The Dutch international has been at the centre of talk surrounding a potential move to the Premier League with Inter still struggling financially.
Following the injury to Reece James, Dumfries, who was a target of Chelsea in the summer, re-emerged as a potential January acquisition for the Blues with Thomas Tuchel and Graham Potter both struggling to find a suitable alternative who was able to provide the same stability at wing-back as James.
After impressing for Inter in Serie A, Dumfries was included in the Netherlands 26-man World Cup squad and given the opportunity to impress any potential suitors ahead of a possible January move. Following a relatively quite group stage, he was the star of the show in the Dutch's 3-1 last-16 win over the USMNT where he grabbed two assists and one goal.
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Following his Man of the Match performance, Dumfries was asked about a potential January move to Chelsea, but he provided a very straight forward response. “Of course it’s a big compliment to be linked with Chelsea, but playing for Inter it’s big compliment too. Chelsea move in January? I’m focused on nothing else but national team and Inter," he said.
Chelsea seemed to be the likely destination of Dumfries if a move was to materialize in January, but Arsenal recently emerged as a club interested in Dumfries and had already decided on their proposal to Inter, which included Takehiro Tomiyasu.
CMW reported last week that the Japanese international, who only arrived in north London in the summer of 2021, would be included in the deal with the Gunners prepared to pay the asking price of €40million (£34.5million) and send Tomiyasu back to Serie A.
The Gunners have now been given an answer over the likelihood of that swap deal or any proposal that involves another player, being accepted. Inter have also given their stance on a January departure and have ruled out any potential cut-price deal.
“Inter Milan are not looking for swap deals for Denzel Dumfries, as things stand,” Fabrizio Romano wrote in his Caught Offside column.
“Big money or nothing, this is their stance – and the absolute priority is to keep Dumfries at least until the end of the season."
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