Matthijs De Ligt is the centre of attraction for Chelsea and should he leave Juventus then the Serie A side could try and sign Arsenal’s Gabriel as the long-term replacement.
Thomas Tuchel is really keen to sign the ex-Ajax man and since his time at Turin has not gone according to plan, the defender could very well look to move to the Premier League this summer.
The Blues have already made multiple offers to sign the centre-back with their latest bid being close to the range of £70 million. De Ligt has only two years left on his current deal with Juventus which is why there’s a very realistic chance that the Old Lady could look to cash in on him.
Mikel Arteta will be keeping a keen eye on this bit of transfer business because if De Ligt ends up joining Chelsea then Juve will undoubtedly make a move for Gabriel.
Gabriel Jesus on Instagram story, sharing Arsenal’s post of him with Gabriel Magalhães & Gabriel Martinelli in training today: “Gabriel’s” [IG: dejesusoficial] #afc
😂❤️ @gabrieljesus9 pic.twitter.com/5Gfl4A1NGm
— afcstuff (@afcstuff) July 4, 2022
Will Arsenal be tempted to sell Gabriel?
Mikel Arteta is reportedly not going to send William Saliba out on loan which means, at least on paper, he can afford to sell Gabriel.
However, Kevin Campbell has claimed that it’s highly unlikely that the Gunners will part ways with the centre-back.
He said on the Highbury Squad Youtube channel when asked if Arsenal would be open to selling Gabriel: “No chance. I am just telling you, no chance.”
After many years of defensive fragility, Arsenal finally found a dependable defensive pairing last season in the form of Gabriel and Ben White so there’s no way Arteta will break it.
If and when De Ligt joins Chelsea, Juventus will be rewarded with a handsome fee but as per the reports, the Italian side feel a bid of around £25 million will be enough to convince Arsenal for a sale.
Last season, Gabriel played in 35 Premier League games for Arsenal and his current deal expires in the summer of 2025 so there’s no way the North London side will even acknowledge a comical bid of £25 million.