Gabriel Magalhaes transfer could well end up being one of the most long drawn-out moves of the summer, although reports still point towards an Arsenal move.
The Brazilian is confirmed as leaving his current club by Lille boss Gerard Lopez, and is linked most strongly with our club, whilst Napoli and Manchester United are also linked with an interest.
‘The way we work is very simple,’ Lopez told the BBC.
‘We explain to him and his environment, his agent, what we are looking for, and once we get those offers the choice is his, like we did with Nico [Pepe] and Victor [Oshimen].’
‘We are there now, so we told him: ‘Eventually you have to make a decision but we’re not pressing you.’ I think he will make it this week, or next week at the latest. He is leaving, we’ve given the OK for that.’
The Serie A side’s bid is claimed to depend on the future of Kalidou Koulibaly, who they are yet to offload, which is supposedly leaving us in the driving seat, but reports later emerged that Manchester United had come in for his signature.
Despite the late interest, The Times reported are claiming that he has completed a medical in North London with a deal already having been agreed, but the DailyStar claims that no deal has been agreed with the player as of yet, and that we are upping our initial offer to the player in hope of fending off interest from the Red Devils.
While the news sources still insist that Arsenal are in the driving seat, the longer we wait, the more anxious and unlikely the move looks to be. Does it seem like Gabriel is holding out for Napoli or United ahead of our side?
Patrick
