Arsenal are close to agreeing a €30million deal for Sporting Lisbon midfielder William Carvalho, according to Portuguese paper OJogo.
As far as papers go, OJogo are pretty well respected. They have covered Arsenal’s pursuit of Carvalho extensively over the last 12 months. The Gunners interest in Carvalho last summer was well documented and it seems Arsene Wenger is now ready to secure a deal.
Several respected sources confirmed Arsenal’s solid interest in signing Carvalho last summer so I think this story is very believable. Lisbon’s demands seem to have dropped by around £5million, making a deal for the player very possible.
Chelsea and Manchester United also have been linked with the player, but Arsenal look to be in the driving seat.
23 year old Carvalho is a physically imposing midfielder who can also play as a centre back. He would compete with Francis Coquelin for the defensive midfield role.
Carvalho has been capped 13 times for Portugal, and would be good value at the reported fee of €30million.
The recovery of the Euro may have also played a part in helping Arsenal negotiate a lower fee of around £21.5million for the midfielder. Lisbon had previously been demanding at least £30million.
Carvalho is one of many defensive midfielders to be linked with Arsenal recently. One area which the Portuguse midfielder stands out ahead of the other targets is his physical presence. He stands over 6ft and is a strong player – something Arsenal could do with in midfield. The lightweight duo of Mikel Arteta and Mathieu Flamini are likely to be offloaded soon.
Is Carvalho the right choice? Commer below with your opinions.
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