Gremio manager Luiz Felipe Scolari is refusing to sell Arsenal target Vanderson and has rejected a bid from Serie A giants AC Milan, as reported by Brazilian publication UOL.
When you consider the 20-year-old has been compared to Dani Alves and Cafu, you probably don’t need us to tell you what sort of right-back the Premier League giants would be getting if Vanderson were to swap Gremio for the Gunners.
Pacey, creative and attack-minded, the youngster is certainly more Hector Bellerin than Calum Chambers.
And given Mikel Arteta likes to hand plenty of creative licence to his full-backs – instructing them to push on and provide width as Bukayo Saka and co cut inside – Vanderson should have few problems adapting to life at the Emirates.
At just 20, he fits Arsenal’s transfer policy like one of Lewis Hamilton’s tailor-made gloves.
That policy, in case you were wondering, is one that revolves around promising, technically gifted youngsters such as Albert Sambi Lokonga, Ben White and Nuno Tavares.
And, inspired by the remarkable impact Gabriel Martinelli made after joining Arsenal as a little-known teenager in 2019, Vanderson is just one of many Samba starlets to have caught the eye of the club’s Brazilian technical director Edu, including Yuri Alberto and now-Juventus forward Kaio Jorge.
Could Vanderson be the solution to Arsenal’s right-back problems?
The problem – and it’s a big problem – is Gremio and ‘Big Phil’ don’t want to sell.
And they don’t need to either, given Vanderson is under contract until 2025, shielded by a £90 million release clause.
According to UOL, AC Milan have seen a £9 million bid rejected. Gremio refused to enter talks with the seven-time European champions and it is understood they see Vanderson’s prospective sale as “non-negotiable”.
With Bellerin desperate for a fresh start and Chambers’ weaknesses brutally exposed during Friday’s 2-0 defeat at newly promoted Brentford, that right-back problem is starting to cause major headaches at the Emirates.
And, unfortunately, Vanderson won’t be the remedy to that particular ailment.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
