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Arsenal Transfers: Juventus eye Gabriel as potential Matthijs de Ligt replacement
Juventus are eyeing a move for Arsenal defender Gabriel as a potential replacement for Matthijs de Ligt.
De Ligt’s future in Turin is up in the air with Chelsea keen on signing the Dutchman this summer. Following a difficult start to life in Serie A after he joined the Bianconeri from Ajax in 2019, De Ligt enjoyed a stellar 2021/22 campaign and Juve will not want to let him leave – especially after Giorgio Chiellini’s farewell.
However, the prospect of losing their star centre-half is a frightening but distinct possibility for Juventus with steps already being taken by the Italian giants to replace him.
Juventus eye Arsenal’s Gabriel as a potential Matthijs de Ligt replacement
🧐 Juventus are ‘convinced’ by Arsenal defender Gabriel and believe they can sign him for ‘around €30m (£26m)’ [Gazzetta Dello Sport].#AFC | Full story by @journoJW for @F365: https://t.co/u68QArTGcj
— Jason Soutar (@jbsoutar) July 2, 2022
Some would argue that Juve need to sign another centre-back even if De Ligt remained at the club. They were linked with a move for Arsenal defender Gabriel long before the summer transfer window opened and such rumours have re-emerged in the Italian media.
According to La Gazzetta dello Sport, the Bianconeri have identified Gabriel as the man to replace De Ligt should he join Chelsea this summer. Although; Kalidou Koulibaly, Manuel Akanji and Benoit Badiashile are also on Juve’s radar.
Convincing Gabriel to leave Arsenal will be no easy task, however, and it’ll likely take a mammoth offer for the Gunners to even entertain the Italian giants this summer. Gazzetta believes an offer in the region of €40m should suffice, but I’d be amazed if Arsenal sold the Brazilian at that price.
The former Lille defender enjoyed a fine campaign last time out as he scored a career-high five league goals. He forged a stout partnership with new signing Benjamin White as Arsenal’s backline, at times, looked like one of the best in the Premier League.
The Gunners’ centre-back ranks will be bolstered by the return of William Saliba from three consecutive loan spells, and it’ll be interesting to see how long it takes the mightily talented Frenchman to work his way into Mikel Arteta’s starting XI.
For now, though, Arsenal’s plan is to retain Gabriel and I don’t see that stance changing anytime soon.