Arsenal transfers: Rising Gunners star going nowhere as trusted source shuts down links with league champions
Arsenal trio Eddie Nketiah, Folarin Balogun and Nuno Tavares
A respected journalist has shut down claims Arsenal will lose a promising young player to a European side that won the league title this season.
Arsenal technical director Edu Gaspar is busy sorting out both new contracts and potential new signings at the Emirates. On the contract front, the Gunners are getting closer to tying down both William Saliba and Reiss Nelson to new deals.
French giants Paris Saint-Germain have been named as admirers of Saliba, but their interest will soon be put to bed as talks between Arsenal and the defender’s camp are progressing.
Reports in Italy recently claimed Nelson might snub a contract offer from Arsenal amid discussions with AC Milan. But Sky Sports have quashed that rumour by stating that the ‘final details’ are being sorted out before the winger pledges his future to Arsenal.
In terms of transfers, Arsenal remain in the picture to sign both Declan Rice and Moises Caicedo in a double deal which would completely revamp their midfield. However, Edu will need to fight off Chelsea to snare Caicedo.
Edu and Mikel Arteta must also decide which players can leave Arsenal ahead of next season. Left-back Nuno Tavares, who has spent the current season on loan at Marseille, has been tipped to depart North London permanently.
Turkish reporter Resat Can Ozbudak recently claimed Galatasaray had met with the agent of Tavares to discuss a transfer. Galatasaray, who won this season’s Turkish Super Lig title, will decide whether to make an offer for the defender once he returns from the U21 Euros with Portugal.
But Fabrizio Romano has now ended such speculation in a Twitter update. He wrote: ‘Understand there’s no negotiation or concrete chance for Nuno Tavares to join Galatasaray from Arsenal as things stand, despite recent reports. Alex Sandro, on Galatasaray list as new left-back in case he leaves Juventus this summer.’
Arsenal to keep Nuno Tavares on their books
It seems Galatasaray are prioritising the capture of Sandro, a more experienced and high-profile option due to his five Serie A titles with Juve.
At 23 years of age, Tavares is a player who possesses good potential, especially as an attacking full-back or wide midfielder. For example, in his first 16 league outings for Marseille he managed five goals.
However, Tavares still needs to improve when it comes to defending and positioning. His inexperience was obvious at Arsenal last season, as shown by Arteta’s decision to substitute him after just 35 minutes in an FA Cup defeat to then Championship Nottingham Forest.
Arteta also used midfielder Granit Xhaka at left-back in a league match against Brighton when Kieran Tierney was out injured, despite Tavares being fit and available.
It would make sense if Arsenal rejected all permanent bids for Tavares this summer and instead loaned him out to another Prem club to gain more top-flight experience. This could result in the Portuguese returning as a more confident and developed player next year.
Alternatively, with Tierney set to be sold, Arteta could promote Tavares and make him Oleksandr Zinchenko’s deputy. This would represent a risk, although Arteta is known to trust younger players when he feels they are good enough.
