€37m-Rated Ace Has Heart Set On Arsenal Move As Wenger Eyes January Bid

The summer transfer window may be closed but managers are already thinking ahead to future transfer windows so we’ll bring you all the latest news and gossip. Today, Arsenal are linked with William Carvalho.

Arsenal are set to renew their interest in Sporting Lisbon midfielder William Carvalho when the transfer window reopens in January, according to reports.

We were strongly linked with a move for the 22-year-old throughout the summer and it’s understood we were in talks with Sporting right up until the last minute on deadline day having had two bids rejected over the course of the last few months.

The Portuguese outfit lowered their asking price from Carvalho’s €37m buy-out fee to around €30m during the closing weeks but a deal failed to materialise as negotiations were believed to have been complicated due to the fact that an investment firm own 40% of the midfielders economic rights.

However, that doesn’t appear to have dampened Arsenal’s interest as the Metro are reporting that we will go back in for the player when the window reopens this winter after Arsene Wenger failed to bring in a dominant midfielder this summer.

The newspaper claims that Sporting are considering offering the player a new deal that would see his buy-out figure increase, but Carvalho is unlikely to commit his future to the club as he’s understood to have his ‘heart set’ on a move to the Emirates.

It was certainly a huge disappointment that we didn’t sign a defensive midfielder this summer and Carvalho would have been ideal as he’s not only able to play in midfield but he can also fill in at centre-back when required.

I hope this report is accurate as I’d love to see us finally bring him to North London in January but it remains to be seen whether Sporting will be willing to do business mid-season or force us to wait until next summer to get our hands on the Portuguese international.