Arsenal expect a quiet January transfer window, although Andrea Berta is open to the idea of selling one of Mikel Arteta’s players.
Berta signed eight players in the summer, spending in excess of £250 million in the process.
The Gunners subsequently have a deep squad full of talented options in every position, although some may argue that Arteta’s roster is actually somewhat bloated.
This may mean that a departure will have to be facilitated, and there’s one prime candidate for this.
Arsenal are ‘open to offers’ for Gabriel Jesus in January
Gabriel Jesus is currently recovering from an ACL injury he sustained in January in an FA Cup match against Manchester United.
The Brazilian isn’t expected to return to action until December at the earliest, and thus has become somewhat surplus to requirements in Arteta’s plans.
Arsenal Insider revealed back in September that Arsenal could now sell the ‘unique’ Jesus, and this is now also being reported by the Daily Mail’s Isaan Khan.
Khan suggests that the Gunners are at least ‘open to offers’ for the striker, in what could be the only notable bit of business that materialises at the Emirates in the January transfer window.
Selling a player who will turn 29 in April and has come off the back of such a serious knee injury is easier said than done, however, particularly given his current salary.
Jesus is earning a purported £265,000-a-week (via Capology) and still has 18 months left on this deal.
It’s possible that Arsenal will ultimately end up having to facilitate his exit by agreeing to terminate his contract or by accepting an extremely minimal fee.
Gabriel Jesus could return to Brazil
There haven’t been many links with English or European clubs for Jesus, which will inevitably make Arsenal’s job of moving him on more difficult.
Only the top sides on the continent and teams in the Premier League would be able to afford to pay somewhere close to his current lucrative contract, or pay a fee for the number nine.
However, with little concrete interest, a return to Brazil may be the more likely outcome.
Speaking on the Inside Arsenal podcast with Charles Watts, journalist James Benge revealed that he’s heard that a move back to his native country may be on the cards for Jesus.
“You know, everything I’ve heard about where Jesus might go, if he goes, it would be Brazil,” Benge said.
“And it’s worth saying that Brazilian clubs have a bit of money, especially those that have just taken part in the Club World Cup. And, you know, Jesus may be good enough to do it in the improving Brazilian league, but not good enough to make a big impact for Arsenal in the Premier League.
“And so if someone from Brazil wants to come along and offer you a nice fee for Jesus, and that affords him an outside chance at taking a real swing at getting into the World Cup squad, I kind of put all that together, and I would look at that and say, thanks for your services, Gabi. We’d love to get your wages off the book.”
from Arsenal Transfer News | Rumours, Deals & Targets | Arsenal Insider
Alfie Cairns Culshaw