Arsenal

Arsenal

Premier League • England

Juventus ask Arsenal to cancel loan deal as major 2023 transfer plan for rejected star takes shape

Kristijan Jakic of Eintracht Frankfurt and Nuno Tavares of Marseille during the UEFA Champions League group D match between Olympique de Marseille (OM) and Eintracht Frankfurt at Orange Velodrome Stadium

Arsenal technical director Edu has a double decision to make on the future of one star with a loan move away from Emirates Stadium reportedly earning recognition from Serie A giants Juventus.

The Gunners are sat proudly atop the Premier League and will be nestled there nicely on Christmas Day. An excellent return of 12 wins from 14 games and just one defeat means Mikel Arteta’s side are five points clear of Manchester City at the summit.

As such, optimism is growing that 2023 could see the Gunners crowned champions for the first time since 2004. However, despite Rio Ferdinand proclaiming Arsenal as the ‘real deal’, another pundit fears one star may yet cost Arsenal their title chance.

To maintain momentum at Arsenal, the club are reportedly plotting at least two January signings with a new midfielder and a winger in their sights.

And having spent well over £100m in the summer, another £50m outlay in the winter window is now being planned.

However, Arsenal will also need to balance the books and they now have the chance to cash in on an unwanted star.

Arsenal signed Nuno Tavares for just £7m (€8m) in summer 2021 from Benfica.

The left-back arrived at Emirates Stadium with a big reputation and made 28 appearances in all competitions last season.

However, he was never really first choice under Arteta and speculation began swirling that he could be cast aside after one season.

And when the Gunners paid an initial £30m to sign Oleksandr Zinchencko from Manchester City, Tavares was made available on loan.

Nuno Tavares excels during Marseille loan

As a result, Tavares opted to make a move to Marseille, the 22-year-old moving to the south of France on a season’s loan.

And it seems the move to OM has worked well for the Portuguese star. He has three goals to his name in 13 Ligue 1 appearances for Igor Tudor’s side so far.

But it is in the Champions League where he has really excelled. Indeed, Tavares’ displays for Marseille have really caught the eye. The Ligue 1 side ultimately finished bottom of a fiercely-competitive Group D, though at one stage in their game were on course to qualify.

Despite that setback, Marseille and Tavares impressed. The full-back boasts the sixth most successful dribbles in the competition so far. However, with only Ousmane Dembele, Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Jnr, Rafael Leao and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia ahead of him, Tavares is the highest-ranked defender on that list.

As such, his form for Marseille has not gone unnoticed.

And according to Sport.fr, Juventus are making clear their wishes to sign him.

Their long-serving left-back Alex Sandro is out of contract in the summer and will not be getting an extension. As such, the Italian giants reportedly want Tavares to replace him.

Star has no future at Arsenal

They are reportedly wanting a deal tied up as soon as January too. As such, they are asking Arsenal to cancel his loan with Marseille and sell Tavares to them in the winter window.

And should Juve come forward with a firm offer for Tavares, that will leave Arsenal with a firm decision to make.

The full-back does not look like he has a future at Emirates Stadium and Arsenal may welcome the chance to make a quick profit on their investment.

They reportedly value Tavares at around the £20m mark and could add the funds to their winter kitty were the sale to go through.

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