Arsenal are pushing to sign Juventus midfielder Arthur Melo after his agent visited the club’s London Colney training base for talks with Edu.
That’s according to a report from Goal, who claim that agent Federico Pastorello visited Arsenal on Wednesday.
It’s stated that Arsenal are desperate to get Arthur signed quickly, with Edu leading talks with Pastorello over a potential deal.
We wondered whether Thomas Partey’s early return from the Africa Cup of Nations could scrap a deal for Arthur, but Edu remains keen.
Arthur is understood to want the move to happen, allegedly seeing the Premier League as the pinnacle of league football.
That won’t be easy because Juventus want to sign a replacement despite Arthur’s lack of playing time.
The Brazilian ace has started just four league games this season, and he was substituted at half time in his last start.
Massimiliano Allegri doesn’t seem entirely convinced by Arthur, but has promised him more playing time according to Tuttomercatoweb.
That seemingly hasn’t done enough to sway Arthur, who still wants to make the move to Arsenal this month.
Arthur really needs to get his career back on track. When he left Gremio for Barcelona in 2018, many were backing him as the heir to Xavi.
Yet come 2020, Barcelona had decided to sell Arthur to Juventus for £66million.
Miralem Pjanic went the other way for £55million, but offloading their supposed next big thing in midfield after just two years was a big decision.
Branded ‘very reliable’ by Lionel Messi, Arthur seemed to fit the tiki-taka mantra perfectly, taking great. Care of possession whilst being very technically-gifted and adept in tight areas.
Arsenal don’t really have that kind of player in terms of a central midfield player, and maybe that’s what Mikel Arteta is now seeking to add.
With talks held on Wednesday, we could soon see Arsenal’s move for Arthur ramp up very quickly.
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