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Arsenal identify Palmeiras star Danilo as the potential target for January
Arsenal are reportedly ready to make a move for Palmeiras midfielder Danilo in January, as per the report in the Independent.
The Gunners entered the summer transfer window with the need of adding more options to their midfield, forward and left-back positions. While they have addressed two of those problems by signing Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko, the midfield issue remains unaddressed.
Mikel Arteta’s side were linked with a move for a host of central midfielders throughout the summer. Youri Tielemans, Moises Caicedo, Danilo and Douglas Luiz have all been mentioned as the potential target for the north London club. However, Arsenal failed to secure a deal for any of them.
The Gunners did their best to find an agreement with Aston Villa on the deadline day to sign Luiz and submitted three offers. But, they couldn’t manage to broker a deal before the end of the window.
Meanwhile, Goal Brasil earlier stated that Arsenal made a £20m bid to sign Danilo before the transfer deadline, however, Palmeiras rejected that offer and made it clear they would only sell their star if Arsenal offered the midfielder’s release clause of €100m (£85m).
Danilo to Arsenal
The Independent have now reported that Arsenal are still in contact with Palmeiras regarding a potential transfer of Danilo and that deal could happen in January.
After failing to sign a new midfielder this summer, Arteta is now left with Albert Sambi Lokonga and Granit Xhaka at his disposal – as the midfield options – at the moment, due to injuries to Mohamed Elneny and Thomas Partey.
The Ghanaian is set to remain sidelined for at least a few weeks and he might not return before the international break, while Elneny’s return date is unknown.
Therefore, Arsenal will have to play twice every week with only two recognized midfielders available. So, it will be interesting to see how the Gunners can manage to cope with the demands of this season – until January at least – with a very thin midfield department.
Nevertheless, Danilo could still help Mikel Arteta’s side in the second half of this season if he were to move to the Emirates Stadium in January. Having failed to secure a deal for a new midfielder this summer, Arsenal must sign one in January in order to keep their midfield options fresh in the more demanding period of this campaign.
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