Arsenal midfielder Thomas Partey will be fully focused on a Champions League quarter-final second leg with Real Madrid currently, but he could be in line for a return to Spain later in the year. The Ghanaian midfielder is out of contract in the summer, but Arsenal have no intention of renewing his deal, and he is set to move on.
Their intention is to replace him with Real Sociedad’s Martin Zubimendi, who is available for a €60m release clause – if they can convince him to join them. Partey has in recent months been linked with Barcelona, and the 31-year-old is reportedly keen on a move to Catalonia.
Nevertheless, Marca say that it is former club Atletico Madrid that are interested in bringing Partey back to La Liga. Los Rojiblancos have been searching for a successor to captain Resurreccion at the base of midfield for several years, and Director of Football Carlos Bucero has identified Partey as one of the top options.
🇫🇷🔴⚪️ Thomas Lemar on IG: “What a joy to play again at the Metropolitano.”
Decent minutes from him last night. ❤️🤍 pic.twitter.com/9ixQg3WTm9
— Atletico Universe (@atletiuniverse) April 15, 2025
The experienced midfielder came through the academy at Atletico, and performed well until being sold for €50m to Arsenal in 2020. Since, the likes of Geoffrey Kondogbia, Lucas Torreira, Hector Herrera, and Arthur Vermeeren have all tried to become the next ‘number 5’ in the Argentine sense of the position, with varying but underwhelming levels of success. Given he is available on a free, Atletico want to move for Partey early and wrap up a deal, as he is likely to have a number of offers.
Currently Pablo Barrios tends to partner Rodrigo de Paul in the middle of the pitch for Diego Simeone, but there is a feeling that the former is better with more freedom to go forward, rather than anchoring the midfield. While Koke remains a good player, Simeone has increasingly moved away from him as a starter in the most demanding games.
