Italian giants join race for £12.5m Arsenal & Manchester City target

AC Milan are set to rival Manchester City and Arsenal for the January signing of Alessandro Matri, according to talkSPORT.

The Juventus star has been linked with a move to the Premier League, with Arsenal and Manchester City reportedly interested, but AC Milan have now joined the race for the Italy international, and are lining up a bid this month.

The 28-year-old has barely featured for the defending Serie 'A' champions this season, starting just four league matches, and the report claims he's open to a move away from the Juventus Stadium to find first-team football.

Arsenal and Manchester City were first linked with Matri in the summer, but the striker opted to stay in Italy and fight for his place.

But now, reports in Italian newspaper Tuttosport suggest that AC Milan have joined the Premier League clubs in the queue to sign the forward.

Matri came through the youth academy at the San Siro, and may prefer to rejoin his old club, rather than move to England.

The talkSPORT report claims that Juventus are willing to sell the striker, and that a fee in the region of £12.5m could be enough to bring Juve to the negotiating table, but stresses that Milan are yet to make an official bid for Matri.