Nuno Tavares leaving Arsenal has been a plausible scenario for quite a while.
After enduring a difficult first season at the Emirates Stadium, in which the former Benfica talent made a number of high-profile errors, there was speculation about the Gunners signing Aaron Hickey.
Hickey, like Tavares, is a left-back and with Kieran Tierney already Mikel Arteta’s first-choice option, there’s no need for the Portuguese 22-year-old if the Scot is signed this summer.
And it looks like Arsenal are ready to cut their losses on Tavares.
According to Tutto Atalanta, the North Londoners are willing to sell the young livewire – but for a small fortune.
The report adds that Arsenal will be looking for £34 million to offload Tavares.
That’s a massive sum when you consider that they only spent £7 million on signing him 11 months ago and his questionable first season in the Premier League.
It would be a small miracle if they receive that sum but, despite his performances, Tavares has a lot of potential.
Yes he had some shockers, but he also looked like a left-back equivalent of Thierry Henry at times during the 2021-22 campaign.
This is someone with a lot of speed and if he could improve on the defensive side of the game, well you’re looking at one hell of a left-back.
However, amid the Hickey speculation, Mikel Arteta and Edu clearly don’t believe he’s going to develop enough defensive nous to ever rival the Scot and Tierney at the Emirates, hence why Tavares leaving Arsenal is increasingly plausible.
But not for £34 million.
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