By Rob Worthington
Quite strangely, it’s been something of a quiet week in terms of Arsenal transfer rumours. The club seems to have settled upon a number of targets concerning incomings and rumours regarding outgoings have remained timid. Still, as always during a transfer window, there is still potential transfer activity to report upon. Here are the last week’s most reliable transfer rumours:
Incomings
Dani Ceballos
There’s been some conflicting reports on Dani Ceballos coming out of Spain over the last few days. On the one hand, AS are claiming that Ceballos will be sold this Summer whilst Marca are suggesting that he will be staying with Real Madrid.
One thing is for certain here, the attempt to re-sign Ceballos on loan is not as close to being finalised as many thought it was. Now, it is possible that Real Madrid are leaking such stories to the press in order to gain a better deal from Arsenal. However, it’s also certainly not impossible that they would perhaps like to take another look at a player who ended the season so strongly with Arsenal.
Reports from @GoonerTalk on Twitter, a source verified by the reliable @TransferChecker, suggest the issue with regard to the potential deal is the obligation/option to buy clause. Real Madrid would prefer it to be compulsory for Arsenal to buy Ceballos once his second loan spell with us concludes while we would reportedly like to keep our options open in case Ceballos disappoints next season.
Philippe Coutinho
On Tuesday night, Fabrizio Romano confirmed that Philippe Coutinho has been ‘offered to Arsenal.’ He reports that Arsenal are still deliberating over whether they want to advance with a deal to bring in the talented Brazilian.
According to Catalan Newspaper Sport, Coutinho has agreed personal terms with us. In addtion, a deal to bring the former Liverpool midfielder in on loan is currently being discussed with Barcelona. As Coutinho is represented by Raul Sanllehi’s right-hand man Kia Joorabchian, it’d be far from surprising to see him in a red and white shirt next season and it should be possible for Arsenal to broker a favourable deal.
Gabriel Magalhaes
This time last week, it seemed almost certain Gabriel Magalhaes would’ve been unveiled as an Arsenal player by now. It was widely accepted that he had chosen Arsenal ahead of the likes of Manchester United and Napoli and all that was need was for Arsenal to lodge an adequate bid.
A week later, everything seems a little less clear. Murmurs are floating around the media in Italy suggesting Gabriel will be replacing Kalidou Kouliably at Napoli while @GoonerTalk claims Manchester United have intensified their interest. Nonetheless, he also claims that Arsenal are still in ‘pole position’.
What is certain is that Gabriel will be leaving Lille this Summer. He was left out of their squad ahead of a pre-season friendly a few days ago and one of their youth players took his #4 shirt. A move to Arsenal is still very much on the cards for the central defender.
Outgoings
Alex Lacazette
As per Le 10 Sport journalist Alexis Bernard, Juventus have opened up talks with Arsenal regarding a potential move to Italy for Alexandre Lacazette. It’s believed that we would be willing to accept an offer in the region of £30 million for the 29-year-old.
Nonetheless, Julien Laurens has claimed while speaking to ESPN FC that Lacazette is “very happy" at Arsenal and that he “wants to stay.” On the one hand, this could be information being leaked from Arsenal to drive up our number 9’s price. On the other, it’s certainly plausible that we want to keep hold of a player who ended this season really strong. It would be surprising to see Lacazette depart this Summer.
Lucas Torreira
The likelihood of Lucas Torreira departure this Summer seems to have grown over the last week. La Gazzetta dello Sport claim that Roma would be interested in a swap deal involving the Uruguayan and Amadou Diawara, The Telegraph are suggesting AC Milan are looking to make a bid for him and Mundo Deportivo have reported that Atletico view Torreira as a potential replacement for Thomas Partey.
Last week, Torreira proclaimed that he doesn’t “know anything right now” about transfer rumours. His statement didn’t infer that he’s particularly unhappy at Arsenal, however, it certainly didn’t quash the media uncertainty surrounding him. Just 2 years after joining us from Sampdoria, it looks as if Torreria’s Arsenal career could be over.
See you next week
That’s it for this week’s roundup. I expect the next week in terms of Arsenal transfer rumours to be busier so make sure to keep your eye’s pealed for next week’s transfer update. Carry on enjoying transfer rumour season everyone.
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