According to The Times, Arsenal have agreed a five-year deal with Lille defender Gabriel Magalhaes – but are now scrambling to fund the deal.
It’s claimed that Gabriel favours a move to North London, with Everton dropping out of the running for his signature.
Napoli have agreed a fee for Gabriel too, with Lille seeking around £27million, but Arsenal have struck a deal with the Brazilian.
However, Arsenal allegedly don’t have the funds to secure the deal right now, and need to offload players to bring in Gabriel.
Defenders Rob Holding and Calum Chambers have allegedly been made available, with Arsenal looking to ship out two right-footed centre backs.
The big appeal with Gabriel is that he is left-footed, bringing great balance to Mikel Arteta’s back line if the deal goes through.
Gabriel, 22, starred for Lille last season, and former a strong bond with Jose Fonte – just like Dejan Lovren, Toby Alderweireld and Virgil van Dijk did at Southampton.
Arsenal know that Gabriel could head to Napoli if they let this situation drag on for too long, so need to be quick if they’re to raise the funds to push Gabriel’s signing over the line.
Having done so much of the groundwork, it would be a shame to let Gabriel slip away at the finish line – and the focus will now turn to offloading Holding, Chambers or other fringe players.
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