Arsenal have been dealt a transfer hammer blow in their pursuit of Vinicius Jr – with the Brazilian star now looking likely to remain at Real Madrid this season.
He had been hotly tipped to make a move to the Gunners, but, according to Sky Sports, the Spanish giants have no intention of selling him and are confident he will agree a new contract.
And so, Daily Star Sport has a look at six players Mikel Arteta could turn to if he still wants to bolster his forward line. Bradley Barcola has been linked with a move away from PSG all summer – with the Gunners in the picture.
However, Barcola has been linked to Liverpool and the Gunners, according to The Athletic, took a back seat due to their pursuit of the Brazilian. And The Mirror suggest he has ‘reached an agreement in principle to join Liverpool’.
Rafael Leao is set to be allowed to leave AC Milan this summer – with reports from Italy suggesting that Arsenal were offered the chance to sign Leao at the end of May but rejected the opportunity.
Leao hasn’t been shy about wanting to test himself in the Premier League: “I need a new challenge. I already won two trophies in Italy and have been there for a while,” Leao told Portuguese news outlet Sport TV.
“The league is evolving, but for my style of football, I think the Premier League or La Liga would make more of my talent, as a player.”
Another star who has been linked to the Gunners is Julian Alvarez – while mainly operating as No.10, Alvarez could be used out-wide by Arteta.
Spanish outlet AS recently claimed Arsenal could offer £85m plus Viktor Gyokeres for the striker. However, transfer guru Fabrizio Romano has poured cold water on that potential deal.
Fresh off the back of Spain’s World Cup win Nico Williams is once again at the centre of a transfer saga this summer. Williams is often linked with an exit from Athletic Club – but he’s yet to leave the Basque outlet.
Williams is tied down to a 10-year contract – but deal the 24-year-old signed last summer includes a €90 million (£77million) release clause.
The riskiest option of the list could be Mika Godts, reports from The Athletic suggest the club has been tracking the Dutch youngster.
Godts, who currently plays for Ajax, notched 29 goal contributions in 32 Eredivisie games last season but missed out on Belgium’s World Cup squad. Manchester United are said to have been quoted £65m for him.