Chelsea Set To Hijack Arsenal’s Move After Tabling £25m Bid For Brazilian Striker

The summer transfer window is now open for business so we’ll bring you all the latest transfer rumours and gossip from around the globe. Today, Chelsea are hoping to secure a deal for Gabigol….

Chelsea are hoping to win the race to sign highly-rated Brazilian striker Gabriel Barbosa after tabling a £25m bid for the Arsenal and Juventus target, according to the Mirror.

Barbosa – also known as Gabigol – has become one of the hottest young prospects in Brazilian football since breaking in to the Santos first team in 2013 and has been likened to Barcelona super-star Neymar.

The 19-year-old’s potential caught the eye of Arsenal scouts and it looked as though he was heading to north London as the Express reported just over two weeks ago that the striker had agreed a deal to join a ‘top English side’ – thought to be the Gunners.

However, talk of a switch to Arsenal has quietened down in recent days and while Juventus have reportedly expressed their interest in signing Gabigol, it looks like Chelsea are now in pole position to secure his signature.

That’s because the Mirror claim that Chelsea have a £25m bid on the table for the Santos youngster and Gabigol has supposedly confirmed his interest in moving to Stamford Bridge this summer.

Antonio Conte finally began work as the new Blues boss yesterday but his employers have been working hard on negotiating deals for his transfer targets for several weeks and Michy Batshuayi has already arrived from Marseille.

But it looks like Conte is keen to further strengthen his attacking options as he plans to use two strikers in his preferred 3-5-2 formation next season with Gabigol seemingly firmly on his radar.

The South American talent is capable of playing out wide or through the middle as a centre-forward to he’d give Conte plenty of options in the final third if he does end up completing a move to West London.

We’ll have to wait and see how things develop over the coming days but until Chelsea get a deal agreed there is still time for the likes of Arsenal or Juventus to step-up their interest in Gabigol again.

READ MORE –> Arsenal transfer news | Chelsea transfer news

However, the Blues remain favourites and Gabigol would be an exciting addition for Chelsea, although I’m sure Conte would ideally want him on board when they fly out to the United States for the pre-season tour later this month.