Arsenal are looking to sell a forgotten midfielder who cost them £35m just three years ago, and they might have local buyers.
Cash has only been flowing one way at the Emirates Stadium this summer: out of the club. Deals for Martin Zubimendi, Viktor Gyokeres and Noni Madueke in particular will have made a significant dent in the Gunners’ budget.
The only players sold for a fee during this period have been Nuno Tavares and young winger Marquinhos, both for relatively small fees, but Arsenal may soon have a more significant outgoing.
Arsenal tout Fabio Vieira to local rivals
The Gunners held high hopes for midfielder Fabio Vieira, as demonstrated by the £34.2m deal they struck with Porto for him three years ago.
Now 25 years old, with less than 50 Arsenal appearances to his name and more talent in his favoured positions flocking to north London, it’s safe to say it hasn’t quite worked out.
But that doesn’t mean the Portuguese midfielder’s Premier League journey is up, with transfer specialist Ben Jacobs reporting that Vieira has been added to West Ham’s list of interest.
He adds that no discussions have been held at this stage, but that he is one potential option for the “multiple midfielders” that Graham Potter wants to add to his ranks this summer.
Vieira has also been linked with a move to Serie A side Parma – following ex-Arsenal assistant Carlos Cuesta, who took the top job there recently – but the English side have set his price tag at €20m, according to Gazzetta di Parma, which, along with his wages, makes it a difficult deal to do.
Based on reports from Portuguese outlet O Jogo, even boyhood club Porto, where he spent last season back on loan, don’t want to explore a return, seemingly opening the way for West Ham.
Landing Vieira this window in a cut-price deal could be a shrewd bit of business from West Ham, in FourFourTwo’s view.
The market is not exactly ablaze with interest based on various reports, and the Gunners will be keen to get him off their books if he’s not going to be used, so if Potter believes there is untapped potential there, the Hammers may be able to land him for a fraction of his true value.
That’s not to mention he has only recently turned 25, so he still has plenty of years ahead of him to grow and develop into the player he was promised to be when Arsenal signed him. He will be desperate to prove himself in England’s top tier, and West Ham could end up being the beneficiaries.
Vieira is valued at €22m, according to Transfermarkt.
