Arsenal is closing in to finalize the deal of Gabriel Magalhaes from Lille for a £22million transfer fee. The reports suggest the defender is set to undergo the medical in Emirates before penning the deal.
The 22-year-old will sign a five-year contract with the Premier League team. But the medical will take place in France due to the coronavirus safety guidelines in the UK.
Anyone arriving from France to the UK has to maintain a mandatory 14-day quarantine. That being the case, Magalhaes won’t be able to meet his team-mates until early September.
Gabriel Magalhaes set for Arsenal medical TODAY ahead of £22m transfer as Man Utd, Everton and Napoli miss out https://t.co/uzcqdCu7vQ
— The Sun – Arsenal (@SunArsenal) August 20, 2020
Earlier, his team received interest from Napoli. The Serie A team is in advanced talk with Manchester City over the potential transfer of their star defender Kalidou Koulibaly.
Hence, they kept Magalhaes as a perfect alternative to the Senegal international.
However, the Brazilian felt excited by the new project of Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta. After winning the FA Cup in the last season, the Spanish coach is rebuilding his squad to prepare for the next season’s battle.
Arteta wasn’t a happy manager at all seeing his team’s defensive fragility. The North London club conceded 48 goals in the 19-20 Premier League season. With the arrival of the highly-rated Brazilian center-back, the future of Shkodran Mustafi and Sokratis Papastathopoulos is uncertain now.
Arsenal will start their next season journey on August 29 against Premier League champion Liverpool in the Community Shield Final. Later, the Gunners will start their 20-21 Premier League campaign against Fulham on September 12.
