Lille’s centre-back Gabriel Magalhaes has been one of the most sort after defender this summer, with Everton, Manchester United, Napoli and Arsenal all interested in signing the Brazilian defender.
According to Calciomercato, the Mail and some other outlets, it was claimed that Arsenal had won the race for his signature but today, Sky Sports are now reporting that Napoli have made a last-gasp attempt to sign Gabriel Magalhaes.
It has been revealed that Napoli has challenged the Gunners by making an increased offer on “a big salary” for Gabriel, to fend off Arsenal’s chance of signing the defender.
Lille OSC had claimed to have received Arsenal and Napoli’s €28million offer, while the last decision rests upon the 22-year-old Brazilian defender to choose his next destination.
Lille had left out Gabriel in their preseason games recently, with Jose Fonte and Sven Botman partnering in those preseason matches at the back.
Napoli had previously lost the opportunity to sign Bernd Leno, Lucas Torreira, Kieran Tierney and Nicolas Pepe, whom were eventually signed up by Arsenal. The challenge for Gabriel’s signature now looks to be another battle between both clubs.
Gabriel has shown to be a strong ball playing centre-back, who takes off the pressure from the defense line and move forward with the ball at his feet. He’s also able to break lines with his ground balls and diagonal long passes.
Standing at 6ft 3in, the 22-year-old defender has a strong build but he’s still very fast and the pace allows him to recover quickly and beat his opponents into a tackle and intercepts the ball quickly.
Gabriel has been tipped to be a great player in future and the ongoing fight for his signature shows that he’s highly regarded to be among the young best centre-backs in Europe.
As the struggle for his signature continues, both clubs would be hoping to be the eventual winner of his signature.
