Arsenal, Everton monitoring defender after seeing January bids rejected

Arsenal and Everton made offers for Lille defender Gabriel in January, but did not meet his valuation, according to reports in France.

Arsenal have looked frail in defence this season, with the summer addition of David Luiz from Chelsea doing little to improve their fortunes at the back.

According to Le10 Sport, they were joined by Everton in their interest in Lille’s Gabriel dos Santos Magalhães during the winter transfer window, before being turned down.

The name may look familiar to Gunners fans, but this is a different Gabriel from the one who represented them between 2015 and 2017, before leaving for Valencia.

Lille’s Gabriel, seven years younger than ex-Arsenal man Gabriel Paulista – to whom he bears no relation – was also born in Sao Paulo, but has been playing in Europe since Lille snapped him up in 2017.

This year has been a breakthrough season for Gabriel, who has made 18 starts in Ligue 1 and a further six in the Champions League – meaning he has already played more this season than in the past two.

Le10 Sport claim that Arsenal and Everton both made concrete offers for the Brazil Under-20 international, but they did not meet Lille’s valuation.

The French club have since tied him down to a new contract until 2023, but it is suggested they may concede defeat in their efforts to keep him if an acceptable offer comes in the summer – with the Premier League duo set to monitor his progress throughout the remainder of the season.

Gabriel is not the only Lille player linked with a Premier League move, with midfielder Boubakary Soumare reportedly having set his eyes on Liverpool or Manchester United after turning down Newcastle United in January.

The Magpies were prepared to break their transfer record to land the 20-year-old, but it is believed that he is holding out for a move to a bigger club, with United and Liverpool ready to watch his progress before potentially offering him the chance to seal his dream move.

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