According to The Sun, Arsenal are closing in on a deal to sign Sporting Lisbon wonderkid Tiago Tomás after he impressed Edu and Mikel Arteta.
The Gunners boss and Technical Director were alerted to the 18-year-old’s talents when watching Sporting Lisbon play Benfica earlier this month.
With Arsenal set to face Benfica in the Europa League Round of 32, Arteta and Edu were doing a bit of preparation work on the opposition.
The Sun say that Edu has been in direct contact with Sporting Lisbon’s Director of Football Hugo Viana.
Tomás has a £52 million release clause in his contract with the Liga NOS giants.
However, due to the financial implications of the COVID-19 pandemic, Sporting Lisbon may accept an offer as low as £20 million.
Tomás has enjoyed a breakthrough campaign this term.
The Cascais-born forward made his first-team debut back in July, and scored his first goal for the club against Aberdeen in the Europa League.
In total this season, he has netted five goals and assisted a further three in 25 appearances across all competitions.
In our view, £20 million would be a lot to spend on a player as unproven as Tomás.
However, with Gabriel Martinelli, Bukayo Saka, Emile Smith Rowe, Kieran Tierney and William Saliba in their ranks, Arsenal are clearly building a team for the future.
Perhaps Tomás is the man Edu and Arteta want to spearhead this youthful spine…
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