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Arsenal are hopeful of completing a deal for Lille defender Gabriel Magalhaes after submitting an offer in the region of £22 million, sources have told ESPN..
The Gunners are in the market for another centre-back despite William Saliba returning from a season-long loan at Saint-Etienne to begin his career in north London, as well as signing Pablo Mari on a permanent basis from Flamengo.
Gabriel has attracted interest from several teams including Napoli and Everton, who are also reported to have made a bid to bring the 22-year-old to the Premier League. Manchester United have been monitoring the situation but it is unclear at this stage whether they have tabled a formal offer. Like Arsenal, they are keen on signing a left-footed centre-back this summer and have scouted a number of options.
Gabriel, a Brazil under-20 international, is set to decide his future in the next week or so, as Lille president Gerard Lopez claimed in an interview with Sky Sports on Sunday.
“He [Gabriel] is one of the players that we allowed to exit the club this summer, he asked for it and wants to try something else,” Lopez said.
“We clearly told him what our expectations were, we spoke to a number of clubs, our expectations were met by a number of clubs and we have given him the time to decide.
“It is going to be entirely his decision. We tend to try and steer our players in certain directions, but at the end of the day it’s the player’s decision. I know he is going to make a decision early next week.”