Arsenal have been alerted to the availability of William Carvalho after Juventus have reportedly contacted the Sporting Lisbon player’s agent.
According to Italian publication Calciomercato, Arsenal have been alerted to the possibility of losing out in their long-term pursuit of William Carvalho. The Sporting CP midfielder could be heading towards Juventus, who have contacted the player’s agent Jorge Mendes with the hope of engineering a move for the Portuguese international.
William Carvalho has been recognised as one of the best holding midfielders in Europe for the past couple of years, with clubs lining up for him every transfer window. The player was quietly solid again for Sporting last season, despite what turned out to be a disappointing league campaign for the Portuguese side.
The start of the summer transfer window has seen the player linked with an exit again, with Arsenal among many other clubs interested in the player. Arsene Wenger is scouring for a midfielder to strengthen the pivot, especially with the current options failing to impress on a consistent basis.
William Carvalho’s passing stats last season:
2,202 passes attempted
1,936 passes completed
87.9% pass accuracy
72.3% forward passes— Squawka Football (@Squawka) July 29, 2017
Carvalho is a pure enforcer in the midfield and could be the perfect foil for the defence, especially if Wenger opts to continue with the three-man defence philosophy. Arsenal have already shown they have enough firepower going forward. But, often it is the counters that have seen the Gunners fall prey to several teams.
Juventus, too, are looking to add a midfielder with Massimiliano Allegri intent on adding a strong physical presence at the centre of the park. The Bianconeri were closing in on Nemanja Matic. But, they were outbid by Manchester United and the Serb also wanted to reunite with Jose Mourinho, which saw them lose out in the race for the former Chelsea midfielder.
Sporting Lisbon’ midfielder William Carvalho (25) is the new name for Juve midfield. [GdS] pic.twitter.com/FbneXvI9jx
— Forza Juventus (@ForzaJuve2017) July 29, 2017
While the club have also been linked to Liverpool midfielder Emre Can, it looks like they have now turned their attention towards William Carvalho. According to the report, the club’s representatives have met the player’s agent Jorge Mendes to discuss the transfers of Ezequiel Garay and Joao Cancelo but they have also enquired the agent about Carvalho.
The 25-year-old has a €40 million release clause in his contract and with Sporting CP unwilling to negotiate a lower fee, Juventus will have to stump up the aforementioned amount to land the Portuguese international. Arsenal, though, could use this tool to march ahead in pursuit of the midfielder, lest they risk losing out on another one of their transfer targets.
