Arsenal move ahead of Napoli in race to sign Lille’s Gabriel Magalhaes
Arsenal have moved ahead of Napoli in the race to sign Lille centre back Gabriel Magalhaes, according to French radio network France Bleu.
The Brazilian defender has been linked with Napoli, Manchester United, Everton and Arsenal. The Italian side were believed to be the favourites to sign him and had reportedly made a £27 million bid for the defender.
They recently signed Victor Osimhen from Lille and thought they were all set to sign a second player from the French club. The North London club, however, are reportedly in a position to snatch the player’s signature from Napoli.
The Gunners have reportedly accelerated their efforts to sign the 22 year old centre back after qualifying for next season’s Europa League, according to LOSC_Actualite and the player will make his decision fairly quickly.
He signed for Lille in February 2017 from Brazilian side FC Avai. The young defender spent time on loan at French side Troyes AC and Croatian club Dinamo Zagreb in 2018. He has made 52 appearances for Lille. This season, he made 34 appearances for the French club across all competitions.
Mikel Arteta has made it clear that the Gunners will be in the market for a centre back this summer despite signing Pablo Mari on a permanent deal and welcoming William Saliba to the club after his loan at Saint Etienne came to an end. Mustafi, Chambers and Mari are all recovering from injuries and likely to miss the start of next season. The Gunners will reportedly listen to offers for Holding, Mustafi and Sokratis this summer.
