Arsenal are certainly interested in Gremio midfielder Bitello, but there are conflicting reports over whether the Gunners have made an €8m bid.

Radio Guaiba journalist Rafael Pfeiffer reports that Arsenal have now submitted an €8m (£6.86m) offer for Gremio’s Bitello.

That’s less than the Série A side were hoping for, but it would represent the start of serious transfer negotiations.

However, Fabrizio Romano isn’t so sure that things have reached that stage.

Romano reports for CaughtOffside that Bitello is indeed one of the players Arsenal’s South American scouting team are following and monitoring, but he says things aren’t as advanced as others are claiming.

After a month of rumours, Romano claims we’re still waiting for an official bid.

Brazilian outlet UOL recently reported that Arsenal were interested in signing Bitello, and that club technical director Edu Gaspar was in contact with Gremio to try and close the deal.

Pfeiffer suggested that Arsenal intermediaries had already spoken to the Gremio president over the deal, with further talks planned.

But according to Fabrizio Romano, the situation still hasn’t progressed to formal negotiations.

One further complication is that Pfeiffer claimed Gremio are keen to keep Bitello for the remainder of the year, even if they agree to sell him this summer.

The Brazilian league operates on a calendar-year basis, so Gremio are currently in the middle of their season – hence their desire to keep Bitello around.

Gremio are in the semi-finals of the Copa do Brasil and competing towards the top of the Brazilian Serie A, sitting second.

Bitello has made 35 appearances for Gremio this season so far, scoring seven goals and assisting four more.

The midfielder is capable of playing a central role or filling in on the right-hand side. There are suggestions Arsenal could be looking for a backup to Bukayo Saka, so he could fit the bill on that front.