Transfer Gossip: Arsenal expect to seal January signing of alternative Brazilian midfielder after reaching Douglas Luiz acceptance; Tottenham see £50m winger bid fail

Arsenal are putting plans in place for a January swoop for Palmeiras star Danilo, Tottenham saw a surprise swoop for a £50m-rated winger fail, while Saturday’s Transfer Gossip claims Man City turned down one of the world’s biggest names.

DANILO LINED UP FOR JANUARY MOVE TO ARSENAL

Arsenal will reportedly push through a January deal for Palmeiras star Danilo Oliveira, according to a report.

The Gunners were looking to strengthen their midfield options in the summer window, a quest that ultimately fell short. Mikel Arteta is looking to increase competition for places in the area after an underwhelming debut season for Albert Sambi Lokonga.

The Belgium, signed in a £17.2m move from Anderlecht last summer, made 27 appearances in all competitions in 2021/22. However, he failed to make the impact expected of him. To that end, Arsenal were considering his exit on loan, with AC Milan among those linked.

Ultimately, the Gunners failure to strengthen in that department of their own means Lokonga remains at Arsenal.

Arteta now goes into the first half of the season with Thomas Partey and Granit Xhaka as his senior centre midfield options. Mohamed Elneny and Lokonga will act as back-up.

The Gunners looked at plenty of options, with Youri Tielemans among those linked. He ultimately stayed at Leicester and will now likely move either in a cut-price January deal, or a free transfer next summer.

Arsenal also pushed hard to sign Douglas Luiz in the final days of the window. The Aston Villa midfielder is also a free agent next summer. However, the Gunners saw a £20m plus offer rejected by Aston Villa. As a result, Steven Gerrard has since spoken out to explain Villa’s refusal to sell.

Per The Independent, Villa were seeking £40m to sell Luiz in the summer. They will also play hardball again in January, that’s if they have not managed to tie Luiz to a new deal in the meantime.

Arsenal turn focus to Danilo

As a result, the Gunners will now turn their focus to Danilo.

The Palmeiras star has been on Arsenal’s watch-list for several weeks now and they considered a summer move.

However, they put that on hold as they pursued other targets in the meantime. However, it’s now claimed they will push through a deal in January.

Arsenal failed with two bids to sign him in the summer, the second for a fee of around £20m. Danilo, a tough-tackling midfielder, has an exit clause worth £85.8m. But the feeling is that Palmeiras will sell for far lower.

And the Daily Express claims the Brazilian side will be far more receptive to a sale in January if Arsenal can up their offer.

By acting now to strike a January deal, the paper claims Palmeiras will have more than enough time to bring in a replacement.

Arsenal currently sit top of the Premier League with five wins from five games. But their excellent start to the new season faces a stern test on Sunday when they travel to face Manchester United at Old Trafford.

TOTTENHAM FAILED IN DEADLINE DAY WILFRIED ZAHA BID

Tottenham reportedly saw a deadline-day move for Wilfried Zaha fail.

Spurs boss Antonio Conte was desperate to add another wide option to his ranks. To that end, they had explored a potential loan deal for Leeds’ Dan James. The Wales winger ultimately opted to sign for Fulham, leaving Tottenham to explore other options.

And The Athletic claims Tottenham turned their attention to Palace flyer Zaha.

The Ivorian has just a year left on his deal at Selhurst Park and looked likely he may depart.

Chelsea were among those to express their interest, while Arsenal were also linked once again.

However, the most firm approach came from Tottenham, who reportedly contacted Palace to ask about a deal.

That approach, ultimately failed, with Palace deciding that his exit so late in the window would have left them with no time to bring in a replacement. Palace reportedly value Zaha in the £50m bracket, despite his contract having just a year to run.

The Eagles will try and pin Zaha down to a new deal, but now look vulnerable to his free transfer exit.

Spurs’ failure to sign a new winger also saw the club block an exit for Bryan Gil to Valencia.

MAN CITY REJECTED NEYMAR OPPORTUNITY

Manchester City reportedly turned down the chance to sign Neymar in the final few days of the transfer window, claims a report.

PSG have a wealth of forward options at their disposal, with Kylian Mbappe committing to a new mega deal earlier in the summer.

Now, alongside Lionel Messi, new boy Hugo Ekitike and Mauro Icardi, PSG have four massive forward names to choose from.

However, they reportedly tried to offload Neymar to help balance the books, claims Marca.

As such, it’s reported that PSG officials made contact with City to see if they had an interest in signing the 30-year-old.

City, though, politely turned down the offer, knowing that alongside a huge transfer fee, his wages would also be astronomical.

Furthermore, Pep Guardiola’s side have also brought in Erling Haaland and Julian Alvarez this summer.

Both players have started the season in superb form. Haaland already has nine goals in six appearances for Manchester City following back-to-back hat-tricks.

Alaverez has three goals in five appearances, despite limited minutes in a City shirt.

Neymar was also linked with a move to Newcastle earlier in the summer, only for the Magpies to also be priced out.