Vinicius Junior is back in training with Real Madrid, with contract talks expected soon between the Arsenal target and his current club.
The big news on Vinicius Junior on Monday morning is that the winger has returned to Real Madrid’s training ground following his post-World Cup break. The player’s future remains unresolved, with contract talks expected soon.
Jose Felix Diaz reports for AS that Mikel Arteta has conveyed to Vinicius how much he could contribute at Arsenal, how important he’d be to the London club, and that they could fight for every major trophy together.
Arteta has made it clear Arsenal’s project would revolve around Vinicius, something which isn’t the case in Madrid. If the player decides to leave, he could be worth around €150m (£128.5m) in transfer fees.
Sergio Valentin confirms that Arteta has spoken with Vinicius and explained Arsenal’s project, whilst Ivan Martin reports for Diario Madridista that Real Madrid are taking the stance that either the player renews his contract now or they’ll consider a sale.
Real reportedly remain calm over the situation, but they believe it’s now time for a definitive decision. Prior to Vinicius’ return to training, the financial gap between player and club in contract talks was described as “significant”.
Florentino Perez won’t offer a salary exceeding €20m per season, and won’t agree to a substantial renewal bonus. Real believe their overall salary structure is more important than any individual player.
Multiple outlets have stated over the past few weeks that Vinicius would ideally prefer to stay in Madrid over any other option. If they offered him what he’s asking for, he’d presumably accept immediately.
Arsenal’s hope stems from the possibility that Real won’t make any efforts to compromise, and that Vinicius will feel he has to walk away to get anything like the contract he feels he deserves.
Whether or not that turns out to be the case should become clear in the next few weeks.
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