Arsenal
Arsenal Leading Chelsea In Race For Portuguese Hitman
Arsenal are leading Chelsea in the race to sign highly-rated Porto youngster Andre Silva on a free transfer next summer, according to reports today.
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 and Chelsea are set to battle it out for Andre Silva.
Arsenal are leading Chelsea in the race to sign highly-rated Porto youngster Andre Silva on a free transfer next summer, according to reports.
Silva joined Porto as a youngster and has come through the youth ranks before breaking into the B team set-up at the start of last season.
The 18-year-old is now considered one of the hottest properties in Portugal but his future at the Estádio do Dragão is in serious doubt after he rejected a new contract offer from the club.
The Mirror claim that the striker has decided to leave next summer when his current deal expires and is keen on a move to the Premier League, with both Arsenal and Chelsea showing a keen interest.
Silva will be able to hold talks with the London duo as of January and Arsene Wenger and Jose Mourinho look-set to go head-to-head over his signature.
However, the newspaper suggests that the Gunners are considered as the early front-runners with Wenger understood to be confident of luring the youngster to the Emirates on a free transfer in June.
Silva shot to prominence when he finished as the second highest goal-scorer at the Euro Under-19 Championship with five goals for the Portugal team and he has an excellent record for the Under-19’s, scoring 16 goals in his 24 appearances.
His record isn’t as impressive for Porto’s B side but he’s clearly got bags of potential and it will be interesting to see if Arsenal can win the race for his signature or if Mourinho can gazump his old foe to take him to Stamford Bridge.
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Wherever he ends up, it’s unlikely that Silva will be pushing for a first team place immediately and I wouldn’t be surprised if Arsenal or Chelsea sent him out on loan for a season or two before he’s given the chance to challenge for a place in the first team squad as he’s still young and will need more time to develop before he’ll be considered ready to play in the Premier League.
