According to Caught Offside, Arsenal are poised to beat Chelsea to the signing of Santos wonderkid Joao Victor de Souza during the summer transfer window.
The Gunners did not make any signings during the winter transfer window. The club were linked with Aston Villa striker Ollie Watkins in the final week, but a deal did not materialise.
Arsenal are now expected to spend big on marquee players in the summer, but they could also focus on adding quality young talent, who have the potential to become key players in the long run.
Caught Offside today claim that Chelsea were interested in landing Santos’ Joao Victor. The Blues proposed to loan him out to sister club Strasbourg to gain valuable first-team experience.
However, the player and his representative were not impressed. It is now reported that Arsenal are prepared to take advantage and sign the 18-year-old left-back at the end of the campaign.
Possible deal
Arsenal are currently well-equipped in the left-back department with the presence of Myles Lewis-Skelly, Riccardo Calafiori, Kieran Tierney and Oleksandr Zinchenko. Jakub Kiwior, Jurrien Timber and Takehiro Tomiyasu can play there too.
However, the summer could pave the way for plenty of changes. Tierney is set to join Celtic on a free transfer while there is a possibility that Zinchenko and Kiwior could be sold too. Zinchenko was on Borussia Dortmund’s radar this winter.
Joao Victor, who has been dubbed as the ‘new Marcelo‘, has already impressed scouts with his attacking skills and defensive attributes. It remains to be seen whether the Gunners can guarantee him regular minutes with the first-team.
As things stand, Lewis-Skelly and Calafiori are the regular starters from the left-back position. If Victor were to arrive, there is a possibility that Lewis-Skelly could be pushed forward into a midfield role where he played for the academy.
Arsenal had their sights on a summer deal for Palmeiras wonderkid Vitor Reis, but he ended up choosing Manchester City last month. With this in mind, we won’t be surprised if the Gunners swoop for Joao Victor when the transfer window reopens.
