Should Arsenal pay £35m for William Carvalho?

There were extensive Arsenal transfer rumours linking the Gunners to Sporting Lisbon’s brilliant midfielder William Carvalho in the summer before he was cruelly injured playing for Portugal in the U21 World Cup.

Arsenal have already got Francis Coquelin, got the injury to the Frenchman showed that we have inadequate backup in the form of Matthieu Flamini and Mikel Arteta to sustain our fantastic form we have when Le Coq is playing. Both of these reserves are getting on in years now and are expected to part company with the club at the end of the season, which will leave a gaping hole in the squad.

Sporting have signalled their intent to cash in on Carvalho with a new contract increasing his buyout clause to £35m, which they announced on Sporting’s official website with this report: “Under the terms and for the purposes of compliance with the reporting requirements stemming from Article 248 , paragraph 1 al. a) of the Securities Code, the Board of Directors of Sporting Clube de Portugal – Futebol, SAD announces that the athlete William Carvalho Silva extended his contract with Sporting Clube de Portugal – Futebol SAD until the season 2019/2020, settling the termination clause in €45,000,000.00 (forty- five million euros).”

Personally, I think that £35m is a fair price for a 23 year-old with such proven talent, and if we had him and Coquelin alternating as DM we could approach next season in confident style.

What do you think?

Tags carvalho Coquelin Sporting

26 Comments

  1. I have mentioned Carvalho alot on here but since we bought Elneny i say NO as we got a box-box player we need and all out DM to cover Le Coq is what we really need. Someone like Wanyama as they are not going to start every game but could do a job when required to see out a game or partner who ever is playing the DLP/B2B role when Francis needs a rest or injured.

    1. The way I see it, Ramsey & Jack will deputize for Santi. As for Coq’s cover, if Flamini can do it, then Elneny will most certainly manage that, plus I don’t see him starting ahead of Ramsey & Jack at the b2b role. The only midfield position that needs reinforcing is Ozil’s cover, I had hoped that he would be used interchangably with Rosicky, but given Rosicky’s age and injury record we’ll need to acquire someone in the summer

  2. I say No on 2 counts….

    1 we have Eleney who can be used as a DM
    2. Not worth 35 million- for that price for a DM I expect a Busquets kind of DM which in all fairness Carvalho is not….!

      1. How because I owuld rather spend £35 million on an established CDM..if Carvalho was priced around £20-£25 million then all guns ahead get him..£35 million he has to be 100% worth it…and we haven’t really seen anything from Eleney and what I have seen so far I am happy with if during the rest of the season we get to see more and see he is just not cut out to be a full CDM then fine lets get someone.

        1. Tell me one established cdm that is available on d market. Javi Martinez was around d same age when Bayern signed him. Do you seriously think elneny is what we need for the cdm position

          1. Have we seen enough of him to say not???
            From the reports he knows how to break up play and get in a tackle…great passer not the easiest person to get past and makes creative moves for counter attacks..what more do you need from a CDM

            look for that money we could sign a striker (main target) or a a new rb and a new cb…..

  3. If Arsene want’s him to deputise for Coq there is no way he will ever pay that. If he sees him as a starting option then maybe a chance. What about Coq alongside Victor, vic is said to be a very good passer and clever player. Saw him in the u21s and he looked a man v boys. Maybe replacing Cazorla with someone who is well built and strong could be better beneficially instead of prioritising flair and forward play, remember he is decent passer, but doubtful he would have Cazorlas intelligence.

    I do think Wenger will bring in one or two more central players with three players leaving us soon. Elneny came in and I reckon he will be Flaminis place on the subs bench. I believe the next one to come in will be solely a DM, Coq injury highlighted what everyone knew. Knowing Wenger I don’t think this is his target, he would have signed already, for years this rumour still wont die.

    1. Sorry I do not want wanyama he is too hot headed..and makes irrational decision and challenges its like having a beefed up Flamini..No thank you!!

      1. Only copped that dude, I meant Carvalho but got mixed up with Wanyama. I see what you are saying but didn’t we have the same problem with Vieira. Attitude of the player, bullish, and I wouldn’t mind having a bull to call upon.

  4. we will see what happens with him this summer, i would imagine with more money swimming around the lower clubs(stoke,newcastle, etc) in the league they will most likely pay that stupid money for him. because it looks like they have bought a world class player for a big price tag. i just think if he was all that wenger would have got him in when he was 18/19 yrs old, instead of waiting till he is 23 yrs old and just playing the same as back then. as it has been said he has been around the block for a while now, so he ain’t some new worldy kid on the scene. but good for his club to get him on this deal will ensure there survival for another season, as they know some one will bite in the premier league for that buyout clause or maybe china if he gets really greedy. just dont think he is for us anymore, the name to keep and eye on is bazoer(another potential vieira) from ajax the clubs will be lining up around the corner for him this summer i think, hopefully we can get the the front the queue on that one.

  5. Silent Stan the Arsenal
    owner is moving the
    Rams to LA costing
    US$.550 mill.
    He is also building a new stadium
    costing US$.1,600 million.
    The club wage bill has hit 191 million quid per year.
    If we do buy a Marquee player it will be a flashy attacker.
    Wellbeck 16 mill Debuchy 12 mill have not been a success.
    Add to that 100k p/week Wilshere hardly plays
    Old timers Rosicky+ Arteta “zimmer” down to the “social”
    to pick up their 80k pension every week.
    Arsenal has been hemorrhaging ” mega millions for years
    and charging extortionist ticket prices to bank roll the madness
    under the code name “sustainable model”
    The latest financial strategic plan includes investing
    in a slew of 2 mill quid youngsters Bielik, Adelaide,
    the two Nigerians, Vlad and promote free academy products
    Iwobi Akpom Niles + Zelalem.
    Our secret weapon Sanogo is finishing his final
    flight testing at super club Charlton. 🙂

  6. i think we will see more of bielik next season in d/m, so wenger wont hinder his progress with getting carvalho in.

    1. Sometimes I wish Wenger would go easy with the cotton wool, not too much but a little more risky. He (Bielik) could have been eased into a few games when we had a full line up and a healthy lead, you learn much quicker playing the real thing. Even on loan its not the same because you must build an understanding with teammates especially in the centre of park. I hope your right, I expect to see a bit of him next season also.

  7. does anyone else on here think the arsenal board are keeping a close eye on ronald koeman at Southampton. to take over at arsenal in the not to far disatant future he would be a steady pair of hands to ensure we shoudln’t have a melt down like man united, and it would be a continuous progression of the clubs philosophy from wenger, but koeman does tend to tighen up hs teams defenses better than wenger though. southampton seem to have quite a stingy defence under his command but he still plays the lovely attacking passing football also.
    he has won some titles in european leagues so has some wining pedigree and at 53 is not likely to stay to long term giving us a chance to bed in henry in after him. and is quite a big charater in the dressing room to inspire the younger players, as they seem to enjoy and play well under him at his current club and he is tatically very astute and flexible. a fairly typical dutch style manager really. i think he has served his time with distintion and deserves a shot at the big time with us.
    what does anyone else think would he fit the club or not?

    1. Yes he is a decent prospect.
      But then so was Gary Monk.
      Wenger is going to be a very
      difficult act to follow.

      1. yeah i think koeman is a much better manager than monk at least he has won something in other leageus apart from the prem. monk might do a little better at getting a team up into the prem that might be his level i think. koeman could pull it off after wenger, i think he at least deserves a shot. Southampton have improved under his management, and he has built on what he was left behind and taken it forward in his own style too.

        koeman pros
        – tactically astute/same philosophy as arsenal already(can change plans and formations to great effect in match)
        – excellent man manager (gets the players playing for him, and never knocks them in public)
        – has a great eye for players in the market (has had to build current club up again with some very clever signings)
        – very importantly he is very well known for giving youth a big chance in his teams and for training them well.

        koeman cons
        – how would he get on with bigger budget than before could he attract the bigger names? (although he is a big name player himself back in the day)
        – not use to being in total control of a club would he need, or want that much power(does work under a director of football well though)
        – not massive experience/exposure in the c/l for a few years now, but he has gotten ajax to the semis in c/l once or twice though when he was there, so could be potentially good for us.

  8. God heavens..Do you guys are serious? William Carvalho is one of the most rated DM’s in Europe and still young.Is he worth 35 millions maybe not but yes 25 millions and Wenger did not get him when his valuation went down not because he was flopping but due to his injury last summer.Is he better than LeCoq ? YES…stop with the sentimentalism here and be objective in football. Ancellotti has asked Bayern to ask his price and that’s why sporting moved quick to high his value..who in Europe is asking to buy leCoq? nobody..he’s done a decent job for us this year but it is not a well known or WC DM outside UK period. it is so frustating to keep talking about pairing ramsey with LeCoq or JW. we need players to up our team..BIG NAMES not makeshift squad players who have nto develop to the level a TEAM LIKE ARSENAL SHOULD HAVE. when Ozil came the team was the focus every where in europe then the addition of Alexis gave us a major lift too but this players WC will go if we carry on relting in the crooks and over ratted players we have right now… team with carvalho-Isco- alexis-Ozil and WC ST will be challenging europe and Pep mega stars..but then some of you will be complaining we can not find or have WC players. wake up call..there are special ones there Wenger. SHOW SOME AMBITON then price increases are understood.

  9. 35 million is too much money for someone we’ve only been interested in (rumors). Now he signed a new contract at Sporting again I can’t really blame Wenger anymore for not signing him. There’s cheaper (proven) alternatives in the market really.

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