Arsenal have been offered the chance to sign Malcom from FC Barcelona, and there’s interest in a deal from the Gunners’ end as well.

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BARCELONA, SPAIN – DECEMBER 02: Malcom of FC Barcelona looks on during the La Liga match between FC Barcelona and Villarreal CF at Camp Nou on December 02, 2018, in Barcelona, Spain. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)

Goal report that Barcelona have offered Arsenal the opportunity to sign the 22-year-old winger this summer. The Gunners are interested, having chased Malcom in the past, and the two clubs have held informal talks over a potential transfer.

Matteo Moretto of Di Marzio has also confirmed Arsenal are in talks for Malcom, and we took a look at Moretto’s reliability in our report yesterday.

In terms of the price tag on such a deal, Barcelona want €40m (£35.9m). That’s around £1m less than they bought the Brazilian for last summer, so they’re looking to recoup their investment as much as possible.

Given Arsenal bid £40m on Wilfried Zaha, and Malcom is being looked at as an alternative to Zaha, it stands to reason they have the funds for this bid too. They could look to negotiate the price down though, given Malcom’s infrequent playing time last season.

Malcom made 24 appearances in 2018/19, but only spent an average of 44 minutes on the pitch in those games. He made six league starts all year and none in the Champions League. It’s hard for Barcelona to argue he’s crucial to their squad.