Chelsea
Man Utd & Chelsea Handed Boost In Race To Sign £44m Brazilian Midfielder
Manchester United and Chelsea could yet land Brazilian midfielder Arthur after the Gremio ace denied he’s already agreed a deal to join Barcelona
The transfer window may be closed but clubs are still working hard ahead of January and next summer so we’ll bring you all the latest gossip from around the globe. Today, Arthur Melo is linked with Man Utd and Chelsea…
Manchester United and Chelsea could yet land Brazilian midfielder Arthur after the Gremio ace denied he’s already agreed a deal to join Barcelona, according to the Mirror.
The 21-year-old joined Gremio as a teenager and progressed through the youth ranks before breaking in to the first team set-up during the latter stages of 2015.
Arthur is now a regular with the Brazilian side having made 39 appearances so far during the 2017 campaign and he’s also earned a call-up to the recent Brazil squad.
The midfielder’s impressive form has alerted several top clubs in Europe with the Mirror reporting last month that Man Utd and Chelsea are among the clubs showing a keen interest in signing him.
It looked like the Premier League duo had missed out after images emerged last week showing Arthur posing in a Barcelona kit amid rumours he was set for a move to the Nou Camp.
However, United and Chelsea have been handed a boost as while Arthur has confirmed that talks with the Catalans have taken place he insists no deal has been agreed as yet.
He’s quoted as telling Brazilian TV by the Mirror:
“We had a meeting but I want to say that there is nothing closed, there is nothing defined. I did not sign anything. I’m a Gremio player
“We have not started the negotiations. Then, if I sign the contract, I will be a Barcelona player, but this has not happened. It has to be something good for me and good for Gremio, which is my home. It’s a club that I admire a lot, I came here with 14 years. I’m a gremista at heart, my blood is blue.
“It was only a first contact for them to know my family and for me to meet them. Let’s take it easy. There is nothing defined but we did have a conversation.”
We’ll have to wait and see how things progress over the coming weeks but it looks like United and Chelsea will have to move fast if they want to prevent Arthur from making a switch to Spain.
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The Mirror claim he has a buyout clause worth £44m in his contract so a deal is there to be done if the English duo want to sign the South American but they’ll have to persuade Arthur to snub Barca in favour of a move to the Premier League, which wont be easy.
