Arsenal are said to be very interested in signing another young South American star amid links to Fluminese midfielder Andre and Villa's Douglas Luiz.
Edu's Brazilian connections
Gunners sporting director Edu has already signed a host of Brazil internationals since taking the reins as Arsenal's transfer chief. Gabriel Jesus joined the club in a £50 million deal from Man City in the summer of 2022, while centre-back Gabriel Magalhaes has gone on to form a brilliant partnership with William Saliba at the heart of Mikel Arteta's defence.
Marquinhos, who is currently on loan at Ligue 1 side FC Nantes, joins Arsenal's crop from Brazil as well, with Gabriel Martinelli also standing out as another star from across the Atlantic.
Edu appears to have a real habit of attracting the most exciting players from his homeland to north London, with reports suggesting that the Arsenal employee wants to keep it going. Arteta's side are believed to view Villa midfielder and former Man City man Luiz as a top target for the midfield, while promising young star Andre is another player on Arsenal's radar.
Speaking on Arsenal's transfer policy last year, Edu explained that they're only in the middle of their project and aim to keep adding more and more quality.
"We have a plan really in place, so we are probably in the middle of our project," said Edu (via Sky).
"We need to keep improving the quality in the squad. We have to make important decisions to make our squad better every year, so we have to improve, improve and improve.
"Here we have to always think about winning. I think the club was born to win things because of the size of this club and that we have to always think about winning. Every single year we have to be better, better and better."
Indeed, Brazil appears to be a very real talent pool for Arsenal, and some news has come to light about another player who is really attracting their attention.
Arsenal very interested in signing Moscardo
According to reliable journalist and transfer expert Neil Jones, speaking to CaughtOffside this week, Arsenal are very interested in signing Gabriel Moscardo from Corinthians. It is believed they're far more keen on the midfielder than the likes of Liverpool, who themselves prefer to wait for South American talent to develop before considering them for first-team football.
"Another young Brazilian linked with a move to Merseyside is Gabriel Moscardo of Corinthians, although my information is that both Chelsea and Arsenal have shown far more interest in the 18-year-old than Liverpool have," said Jones.
“Liverpool, generally, do not sign first-team players directly from South America. Their tendency in the past has been to wait and see how a talent develops once it has moved to Europe – think of Diaz, Firmino, Fabinho, Nunez, Mac Allister and Alisson as six great examples – before making their move when the player reaches their early-mid 20s.”
Moscardo, despite being just 18, has already made 23 senior appearances in all competitions and could be a real one to watch in the future.