Gabriel Magalhaes has agreed a deal with Arsenal and is set to fly to London on Monday to finalise the agreement as Arsenal ready an official statement.
Mohamed Bouhafsi of RMC is generally considered one of the more reliable sources on the potential Gabriel Magalhaes deal, and his last update suggested Arsenal were close to the transfer. Now he has tweeted again to say the deal is done:
https://twitter.com/mohamedbouhafsi/status/1297563749872803841?s=19
Bouhafsi previously stated that Gabriel’s entourage were still officially denying a medical for the player or total agreement with Arsenal. Lille also issued the same denial to the journalist, despite recent reports.
However, Bouhafsi said on Friday a deal was not far off for the Gunners. The Guardian said the same, writing ‘Arsenal believe the transfer could be completed soon’.
They then updated to say it has all been agreed on Sunday.
Gunners to beat Napoli and both Manchester clubs to Lille player
Mikel Arteta still wants to add a forward and midfielder to squad – Guardian, 23 August 2020
The reason for the delay is in part down to the fact that the Ligue 1 club didn’t want to complete a deal on matchday. Lille played Rennes in their opening league game on Saturday that ended with a 1-1 draw and a red card for each side.
Even though Gabriel didn’t take part (and his shirt number has already been given away), the match ended any chance of a Saturday announcement. That doesn’t stop him travelling to London, though:
Lille defender Gabriel is currently in London to sign for Arsenal, according to @telefoot_chaine.
— Get French Football News (@GFFN) August 22, 2020
This might have been a bit premature, but late on Saturday evening the following Tweet landed from Italian football expert, Fabrizio Romano:
https://twitter.com/FabrizioRomano/status/1297303075770773504
It read, “Gabriel Magalhães to Arsenal, here we go! Total agreement just completed: he will fly on Monday to London to sign his contract until June 2025, €30M to Lille (add ons included), official statement on next week. The deal is finally done.”
The Daily Star also reported that official statements are being readied.
Let’s see if this is really if for Gabriel to Arsenal this time.