According to Spanish outlet Fichajes, Arsenal have accelerated their interest in signing Benfica striker Marcos Leonardo after putting forward a £26m offer.
Leonardo was linked with a possible move to the Gunners in January, but Benfica won the race to sign him from Santos. The 20-year-old has since made 10 substitute appearances for the Portuguese champions, but has been hugely impressive with 4 goals and 1 assist.
As per Fichajes, Leonardo has managed to capture the attention of top-level European clubs with his performances at Benfica. Arsenal seem to have taken an advantage and have presented an offer of £26 million plus add-ons to Benfica for the striker.
Benfica are prepared to wait until the end of the season to assess the player based on his progress.
Good potential
Leonardo had a good 2023 season with Brazilian giants Santos. He found the back of the net on 21 occasions from 49 games while registering 4 assists. Benfica moved fast to land his signature for £15 million. The youngster has yet to start a game under manager Roger Schmidt, but he has made his impact off the bench, scoring 4 goals from just 145 minutes. His goalscoring exploits may have convinced the Gunners.
Arsenal currently have the likes of Gabriel Jesus and Eddie Nketiah as the specialist strikers, but neither of them have been consistent enough. Jesus has fared better than Nketiah for the London giants, but the Brazilian’s injury woes have vastly limited his playing time. Manager Mikel Arteta will want a new striker ahead of next season. It is left to be seen whether there is any truth to the speculation over Leonardo.
Leonardo has a similar kind of playing style as Jesus with his work rate and movement in and around the box. His distribution still needs improvement, but he has been brilliant with his finishing. Leonardo has scored from 4 out of his 6 shots on target in the Portuguese top-flight. He would be a surprise signing for Arsenal who have been linked with higher profile strikers such as Ivan Toney and Victor Osimhen in recent weeks.
