According to Goal Brasil, Arsenal could sign Marcos Leonardo for less than £13 million after Santos’ relegation from the Brazilian top-flight.
The 20-year-old had a good season with Santos with 21 goals from 50 appearances, but it was not sufficient to avoid their shock relegation from the top tier. The striker is now willing to move on from the Brazilian heavyweights and Goal Brasil claim that Arsenal have made an approach to sign him.
The same source highlight that his agents are looking for a solution for the youngster as clubs are unlikely to make a big investment in January. Santos were demanding at least £13 million for the centre-forward, but could now accept less after their demotion.
Bargain deal
Arsenal are looking for a new striker in the January transfer window but funds could be limited due to Financial Fair Play. The club only signed David Raya on loan from Brentford due to the same reason last summer and may be reluctant to spend big on a centre-forward in the coming month.
This could lead to them signing Leonardo, who has the potential to become a top-class striker in future. The youngster possesses a good work rate like most Brazilian strikers. He has a similar playing style as Gabriel Jesus and could be a good piece of investment with the low transfer fee involved.
However, the big question mark is whether they can convince him over a transfer with Roma also interested. The Serie A giants fell short of signing him last summer and they could make a fresh move in January. Roma could convince the player with regular minutes which may not be guaranteed at Arsenal with Jesus and Eddie Nketiah competing for the sole no.9 role under manager Mikel Arteta.
Other clubs could join in the transfer race as well ahead of the turn of the year. He would be a bargain signing for any European club interested and Arsenal have a task on their hands on persuading the striker to join them without the assurance of starts.
