Thomas Partey is a phenomenal player. It is not very easy to be in a starting lineup of the team which has Diego Simeone as a coach.
A defensive midfielder from Ghana not only managed to become an integral part of Atletico Madrid, but he also shone at his national team, scoring 10 goals in 27 games, which is an excellent number for a player who is mainly occupied by defensive duties.
From Odometah to the starting place in Atletico
Born in Krobo Odumase in 1993 Thomas was starting his career in the youth ranks of Odometah. In 2011 he signed a contract with Atletico Madrid, and in 2015 he made his professional debut against Espanyol when he replaced Luciano Vietto. Soon afterward he managed to take place in the starting 11 slowly.
On May 28, 2016, Partey played a Champions League final against Real Madrid, which his team eventually lost on penalties. He was a substitute in the extra time, replacing Koke.
From the 2016-2017 season, he became an integral figure for the club, playing in the team’s midfield, usually with Saul or Koke.
His success grabbed attention in Ghana and Africa in general, especially from betting companies, which are always the largest sponsorship providers for teams.
However, due to Arsenal’s fame and overall reputation in football, no betting company would dare suggest a sponsorship, knowing that they would have to pay more than they possibly could.
Because of this, most companies decided to simply base some of their promotions on Partey and created no deposit bonus codes titled “PARTEY” or “ARSENAL” which may introduce some serious legal issues with the team.
There were even bets discussing what award Partey would receive in the future. Which is not too surprising considering his rich history.
In 2018 and 2019 Thomas won Ghana Player of the Year Awards. Most recently he was a part of the team, which knocked out the previous season’s champion, Liverpool in the last 16.
Will Partey join Arsenal and how it will affect the English side?
Thomas Partey has a release clause of $42 million. This leads to the Premier League side Arsenal to activate its interest in Ghanian midfielder. No surprise, because Arsenal has issues in the midfield.
Lucas Torreira and Granit Xhaka do not seem to resolve problems. After the appointment of Mikel Arteta fans anticipate he would be able to create a formidable team and signing Thomas Partey will be one of the positive steps taken towards it.
However, at this point, it seems very unlikely that Partey will join Arsenal in the following transfer window. He has declared several times, that he feels very happy and comfortable under Diego Simeone and there is no need to leave a team that is continually fighting for high goals, unlike Arsenal.
If somehow Arsenal manages to sign Partey, I am a hundred per cent sure the defensive woes will be resolved - at least partially. Not only he can defend, but in Atletico, he has been an initiator of the team’s attacking prospects.
In this season Arsenal struggled to score a lot of goals. The team was also knocked out from the Europe League. All of this happened because the team lacked decent attacking players.
Conclusion
To sum up, Arsenal should not be very hopeful of signing the Ghanian player. Atletico declared that they are looking to increase the buy-out clause as well, considering the high demand they have on Thomas. But even if Arsenal manage to pay the given sum, Thomas himself would be unwilling to leave the team.