In an interview with Sky Sports, the agent of David Luiz, Kia Joorabchian, has said that the chances are ‘very high’ that the central defender with remain with Arsenal for the 2020/21 campaign.
The 33-year-old joined the Gunners from Chelsea last summer on a one-year contract with the option of another 12 months, should he impress at the north London side.
It has recently been claimed that the club are reluctant to trigger the extension clause due to his £125,000-a-week wages, but Joorabchian has clarified that the option has already expired.
Speaking to Sky Sports, the Brazilian’s representative said that the defender is ‘very happy’ at the capital outfit and he has an extremely good relationship with the manager and everyone associated with the club.
“He’s very happy at Arsenal. He has an extremely good relationship with both the coach and the sporting director. He has good relationships all throughout the club, right up to the owner. He respects everybody,” He told.
He added that the option to extend Luiz’s contract expired amid the ongoing pandemic and the Brazil international will sit down and negotiate a new deal with the Gunners prior to next season.
“Arsenal had an option, which expired. We also had a pandemic [coronavirus]. So the option expired in the middle of the pandemic. David will sit down with Arsenal before the season begins, have his conversations and they will both decide if he will stay or not.” He added.
He further told that the chances are very high that Luiz will remain with the Gunners next term, given he has no desire to leave the club, he concluded: “The chances are very high [of Luiz being at Arsenal next season]. There is no desire to leave.”
Luiz was inconsistent with his displays under ex-Gunners boss Unai Emery during the first half of the season and he was culpable of positional lapses and conceded a couple of needless penalties.
His performances have, however, taken an upward curve under the guidance of Mikel Arteta and barring the glaring mistake in the Europa League exit to Olympiacos, he has stood out with his showing at the heart of the club’s backline.
The Gunners are currently experiencing financial difficulties due to the coronavirus pandemic and it will be interesting to see whether they will ask Luiz to take a pay-cut to extend his stay with the club next term.
Luiz’s current deal with the club expires at the end of this month but the Gunners have the option of offering him a short-term extension until the conclusion of the campaign, which has been delayed by the COVID-19 outbreak.
Stats from Transfermarkt.com
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