Arsenal were thought to be out of the race for Fulham’s Fabio Carvalho, but they may actually still be challenging Liverpool for his signature after all.
The Daily Star reported in February that Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur were both on the verge of giving up any hope of signing Carvalho.
That report suggested that the belief was that Carvalho was Liverpool-bound and there was no point even trying to sign the Fulham teenager.
However, Calciomercato claim that AC Milan still have hope of signing Carvlho and Arsenal are right there with them in the race.
With Celtic’s Ben Doak seemingly Anfield-bound, maybe other clubs are sensing a chance to hijack Liverpool after all.
Liverpool made their move for Carvalho on deadline day in January and appeared to have a deal in place.
The Reds ran out of time though as Carvalho also needed to be loaned back to Fulham and there just wasn’t enough time to sort out all aspects of the deal.
90Min claim that Liverpool still think Carvalho will be Anfield-bound this summer, but until a deal is absolutely done, they are open to being hijacked.
So what can Arsenal offer Carvalho that may tip the balance in their favour?
Arsenal can at least allow Carvalho to stay in London, where he has spent the last nine years having moved from Portugal as a kid.
Mikel Arteta’s work with young players should also be hugely appealing to Carvalho, who has been likened to Emile Smith Rowe by Football Talent Scout.
The likes of Bukayo Saka, Smith Rowe and Gabriel Martinelli have all developed rapidly under Arteta, possibly giving Carvalho belief that he can do the same.
Liverpool are still in the box seat, but it sounds like Arsenal can’t be completely ruled out just yet as Carvalho faces a huge decision on his future.
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