According to reports on Wednesday, Gabriel Magahlaes has opted to accept Arsenal’s offer of a five-year contract at the club and has even been asking Jose Fonte what it’s like to play in the Premier League.
The first report that Gabriel had agreed terms with Arsenal came, predictably, on Twitter when @afcstuff dropped this tweet:
Gabriel Magalhães has chosen to join Arsenal on a five-year deal. The transfer fee is around €30m. [@LOSC_fs] #afc
— afcstuff (@afcstuff) August 19, 2020
It was based on this one:
https://twitter.com/LOSC_fs/status/1296038471140872195
Translated, it reads, #Mercato According to the latest information, Gabriel has chosen to join #Arsenal ! A 5-year contract would await the Brazilian. Amount of about 30M €.
The Times [£] then reported that Arsenal had agreed terms with the 22-year central defender, which was picked up by The S*n.
The Times wrote in their opening paragraph, “Arsenal are confident of sealing a deal this week for Gabriel after agreeing a five-year contract with the Lille defender.”
Pretty clear.
L’Equipe then came in to back the story up:
Gabriel (Lille) tout proche d'Arsenal
Le défenseur central du LOSC, âgé de 22 ans, est très proche de rejoindre Arsenal, qui lui propose un contrat de cinq saisonshttps://t.co/NDMedco6Am pic.twitter.com/J3nvSvgr75
— L'ÉQUIPE (@lequipe) August 19, 2020
Earlier today it had been reported that Napoli offered Gabriel a lot more cash than Arsenal but its seems their failure to shift Kalidou Koulibaly as quickly as they would have liked has given Arsenal the edge.
Gabriel’s teammate, Jose Fonte also said that the player has been asking about playing in the Premier League. Fonte, of course, spent time in England with Crystal Palace, Southampton, and West Ham.
Fonte: "We need to understand that every boy’s dream is to play in the Premier League and he’s been asking questions about the Premier League. He has been asking questions about clubs in the Premier League. I try to give the best and honest opinions."
— Simon Collings (@sr_collings) August 19, 2020
As well as helping Arsenal out by getting out of the way on this deal, the Italians might also do us a favour by taking Sokratis. Unlike Gabriel, his signing has nothing to do with moving Koulibaly anywhere as the Greek defender is likely to cost Napoli next to nothing and they reportedly want to bring in two central defenders this summer.
Gabriel makes decision, Arsenal to sign Spurs 20yo, Aubameyang deal finalises