Arthur Cabral will miss out on a move to Premier League giants Leeds United, West Ham or Arsenal due to work permit problems, FC Basel legend Erni Maissen explains to Transfermarkt.
It’s no wonder Cabral is in high demand.
You won’t find many strikers in Europe more prolific than him at the moment. In 31 games, Cabral has scored a frankly ludicrous 27 goals in 2021/22.
And when you consider that the likes of Leeds, West Ham and Arsenal have all had their problems in the final third at times this season, it felt like only a matter of time before Premier League clubs were forming an orderly queue for a striker who’s scored more than Erling Haaland and Ciro Immobile combined.
According to TEAMtalk, however, a potential £16 million move to Elland Road fell through during the summer of 2020 due to problems with Cabral’s work permit.
And, in the post-Brexit era, it is now more difficult than ever for players to receive the required documentation. Especially if they, like Cabral, do not have a single international cap on their CV.
Will Arthur Cabral be denied a Premier League move?
“I can’t imagine Cabral going,” says Maissen, who won a pair of Swiss Super League titles during the first of two spells at Basel.
Cabral, who moved to Switzerland from Copa Libertadores champions Palmeiras, has also been linked with a shock move to La Liga giants Barcelona, much to Maissen’s bemusement.
“Cabral would like to join a good club. In Spain, the level is too high for him. He is not good enough for that,” the former Switzerland international adds.
“In England, he cannot play because he was not used for the (Brazilian) national team (and therefore wouldn’t get a work permit). Basel would have to get 20 million for him.”
West Ham were reported to have put forward a fee in the region of £17 million recently.
Cabral, meanwhile, has put talks over a new Basel contract on ice as he weighs up his future at St Jakob Park.
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