Arsenal may have to be careful in the transfer market, but they continue to be linked with a number of potential signings.
The global pandemic means clubs will be scaling back their spending. Arsenal have been linked with loans, freebies and swap deals, but one rather more expensive target emerged over the weekend.
The father of Flamengo ace Gerson told Yahoo Sports over the weekend that Arsenal have been pursuing his son. Raul Sanllehi allegedly wanted Gerson at Barcelona, and now wants him at Arsenal.
Because the claims have come from Gerson’s father, they have some weight to them. However, UOL Esporte claim that Gerson wants to stay with Flamengo.
A €70million (£61million) release clause exits in his deal, and Flamengo would allegedly want that paid. It’s therefore unlikely that Arsenal will pay that kind of money, but they do have good links with Flamengo having signed Pablo Mari from them in January.
Gerson, 22, has bagged four goals and four assists for Flamengo since joining in 2019. He had previous spells in Europe with Roma and Fiorentina, but didn’t enjoy much success before heading back to Brazil.
As a left-footed midfielder who plays as a central or holding midfielder, the interest in Gerson may just spark rumours about Granit Xhaka’s future again – and some fans believe he could be his replacement.
Supporters on Twitter believe that the two are ‘very similar’, and have ‘exactly the same profile’.
Some believe that Gerson can be the long-term successor for Xhaka in midfield, and think that he may even have the potential to be even better than the Swiss ace.
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