Arsenal lead chase to sign £36m South American, Man Utd have also expressed interest

We’re now at the business end of the summer transfer window and managers are working hard trying to strengthen their squads so we’ll bring you all the latest news and gossip from around the world. Here, Arsenal are still linked with Everton Soares….

Arsenal remain front runners to sign £36m-rated Gremio attacker Everton Soares but could face stiff competition from the likes of Manchester United or Napoli, according to reports in Brazil via TeamTalk.

The Mirror carried a report recently that claimed Arsenal were closing-in on a deal to sign Everton after supposedly meeting his £36m release clause having identified the 23-year-old as an alternative to Wilfried Zaha.

The Gunners then stunned the footballing world by splashing out a club record £72m fee to sign highly-rated winger Nicolas Pepe from Lille on Thursday so it was assumed Unai Emery had ended his interest in signing Everton this summer.

However, it looks like Emery could still be in the market for another attacker as TeamTalk are citing a report from Globo Esporte that claims Arsenal remain the leading contenders to sign the Gremio attacker, despite the big-money arrival of Pepe.

Arsenal have also been linked with a swoop for Philippe Coutinho today so the media believe Emery is still looking to sign another attacker before the window closes on August 8th. Such a move is highly unlikely to come off so take advantage of any online gambling offers before placing any of your hard-earned money on Coutinho joining Arsenal this summer.

However, Globo Esporte claim the Gunners could face stiff competition if they do formalise their interest in Everton over the coming days as they say Manchester United, Manchester City, Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, Atletico Madrid and Napoli have all expressed their interest in the player.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is being linked with a number of top attackers right now as he looks to further strengthen his squad ahead of the new season and it appears Everton is another player on the United bosses radar.

But despite the level of interest being shown in the Brazilian international, Gremio chief Deco Nascimento has confirmed the club have yet to receive a formal offer – much to their bemusement. He’s quoted as saying by TeamTalk:

“It’s absurd. For what he played at the Copa America, we expected a flood. We have nothing so far. Let’s wait.”

We’ll have to wait and see how things develop but I still expect Everton to come to Europe this summer – although I’d be shocked if it was Arsenal as I just don’t see them spending big money on another winger.

Read –> Arsenal transfer news | Man Utd transfer news

United’s priority seems to be in central midfield and up front so a move to Old Trafford is also unlikely at this stage so it will be interesting to see where Everton ends up if he does leave Gremio this summer.