Arsenal have been strongly linked with a deal to sign Gabriel Magalhaes this summer, with the latest reports claiming he was set to join us ahead of Napoli who also had a bid accepted, but I am fearing we will miss out.
The Italian side were believed to have been keen on the Brazilian as a potential replacement for Kalidou Koulibaly, but his transfer is yet to be arranged, which looked as if we would be able to clinch the deal almost unchallenged.
Fabrizio Romano has now claimed that Manchester United have made a late bid to sign the defender, and I fear that this could well hamper our bid.
The delays in an announcement tell me that our side were not leading the race for his signature, and that our agreement was reliant on Napoli dropping out of the race, and United’s interest may well be the knockout blow to our bid.
The Red Devils bid is claimed to have come too late, with a five-year deal reported in The Times to have been agreed with our side, but until everything is signed and sealed, I’m not allowing myself to get carried away.
Regardless of the deal for Gabriel, we will already be able to boast an improved back line following the return of William Saliba from his loan with St Etienne, and he will be expected to be a first-team regular despite his young age of 19.
More reinforcements will still be expected this summer, with the belief that Arteta will be keen to return to a back-four with new personnel.
Am I alone in feeling like we will lose out on Gabriel’s signature?
Patrick
