Spanish La Liga side Valencia want to sign Arsenal’s Gabriel Paulista as part of their defensive rebuild this summer.

  • Gabriel is a top target for Valencia 
  • They hope that new coach Marcelino will be able to convince him
  • €30m asking price could be an obstacle

New coach Marcelino wants to bring Gabriel back to Spain as part of his rebuilding of Valencia’s defence, claim Cadena SER.

There is hope at Valencia that the Brazilian could be willing to reunite with Marcelino, whom he worked under at Villareal before he joined Arsenal in 2015.

The prospect of more first team football could also be appealing as he’s found himself second to Laurent Koscielny and Shkodran Mustafi in the pecking order this season.

However, Arsenal could ask for up €30m for the player, which would be a significant obstacle for Valencia to overcome.

Gabriel has only been at Arsenal a short amount of time and though his performances have been mixed, the club will be in no rush to sell without a good offer.

The Brazilian could be in line for more minutes next season if Arsene Wenger continues to use a three-man defence, especially with concerns over Koscielny’s achilles injury.

He impressed as a right-sided centre back against Manchester City in the FA Cup semi-final at Wembley, a sign there’s a lot more to come from Gabriel in the future.

On the other hand, the rise of Rob Holding and Calum Chambers returning from a loan spell at Middlesbrough could see Arsenal cashnig in on the South American and pinning their hopes on the young homegrown stars.

It would perhaps depend on how much Valencia were willing to spend to sign Gabriel, or if they’d just pursue cheaper targets.