Arsenal and AC Milan are the two most advanced clubs for the potential signing of Emanuele Rao from SPAL, according to reports in Italy.
Italian journalist Gianluigi Longari confirmed this week that Arsenal are the Premier League club that have worked most actively for SPAL winger Emanuele Rao.
19-year-old Rao is entering the final year of his contract with SPAL, and Longari reports that AC Milan remain among the clubs interested in his signature. Milan have been on Rao’s case since January, along with other top Serie A clubs.
But there are also Premier League clubs in the mix, and Arsenal are the foremost amongst them.
Mirko Di Natale of TuttoJuve.com reports that Arsenal and Milan are the two most advanced clubs for Rao, who is on the market due to SPAL’s financial issues.
Di Natale added that Fiorentina, Inter Milan, Juventus, and AS Roma are all a little further behind at this stage.
Rao made 38 appearances for Spal this season, scoring five goals and assisting a further two. Though that’s a relatively modest return, the winger is still just a teenager, and there’s clearly a belief he has room to continue to improve.
As well as playing for SPAL, Rao has represented the Italian youth teams at various levels. He made his debuts for the u17s in 2022/23, the u18s in 2023/24, and the u19s in 2024/25.
Arsenal are likely to be on the lookout for young wingers this summer, following a couple of academy departures in forward areas and a need for first-team backups.
