Arsenal make approach to sign £50m South American as Emery plots double swoop

The January transfer window is coming to a close so managers are working hard on strengthening their squads and identifying targets for the summer so we’ll keep you up-to-date with the latest rumours. Today, Arsenal are linked with Malcom…

Arsenal have asked Barcelona about signing Malcom on an initial loan ahead of a possible £50m summer move as Unai Emery looks to sign two players before the end of the month, according to The Sun.

The boss has admitted he’s in the market for reinforcements after seeing his squad ravaged by injury and while defence has become a priority following injuries to Sokratis and Laurent Koscielny, Emery is also hoping to bring in a winger and a midfielder over the coming days.

The Sun claims Arsenal chiefs asked Barcelona if we could sign Malcom on loan until the end of the season during our talks for midfielder Denis Suarez – who’s been strongly linked with a move to the Emirates this month.

Malcom was touted as an Arsenal target before he moved to the Nou Camp from Bordeax last summer but his time in Spain hasn’t gone to plan as he’s struggled to hold down a regular place in Ernesto Valverde’s starting eleven.

The Sun suggest that Barca could be open to letting the South American attacker leave on a short-term deal and would want £50m to sell him on a permanent basis in the summer – although the La Liga champions are reluctant to sell him at this stage.

A simple loan with no obligation to buy could therefore work for all parties and the newspaper suggests that Malcom could be open to the idea of a short-term move to Arsenal if it meant he was playing regular football.

The 21-year-old is able to play anywhere across the attacking midfield positions so he’d be an excellent addition to the squad if we could get a deal agreed but we’ll have to wait and see how things progress over the coming days.

Emery is also reportedly in the market for another midfielder and The Sun says Villarreal star Pablo Fornals has emerged as a target having impressed in La Liga this season.

READ –> Arsenal transfer news

The 22-year-old has a release clause worth £28.5m in his contract but Arsenal can’t pay that kind of money this month and Villarreal are highly unlikely to let him leave on loan so this may be one transfer that has to wait until the end of the season.