Arsenal could hijack MAJOR Barcelona transfer

Tom Hancock

15 Aug 2023 11:53 BST
3 min read

Mikel Arteta, the Arsenal and Barcelona badges on a blue and red abstract background — © ProShots

Arsenal will reportedly try to beat Barcelona to Manchester City’s Joao Cancelo if Kieran Tierney leaves the club.

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Barca are said to have agreed personal terms with the Portugal full-back and tabled an official bid, although it remains to be seen whether Man City will accept it.

Cancelo spent the second half of last season on loan at Bayern Munich and seems set to leave City on a permanent basis this summer, having not featured in the squad for their Premier League season-opening win over Burnley last week.

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Despite Barcelona seemingly closing in on the 29-year-old, though, Arsenal are ready to pounce if they lose Tierney, according to the Daily Mail.

Tierney – who arrived from Celtic in 2019 – has been linked with a loan move to Real Sociedad, although the Gunners are thought to only be interested in a permanent transfer for the 26-year-old Scotland international.

With new signing Jurrien Timber forced off on his Premier League debut at the weekend – with what is feared to be an ACL injury – Mikel Arteta could suddenly find himself quite short in the full-back department, hence the apparent monitoring of Cancelo’s situation.

MORE: Premier League 2023/24 summer transfers | All the Done Deals

Arsenal’s record-breaking summer

Cancelo still has four years left to run on his Man City contract, with our in-house Estimated Transfer Value (ETV) model currently rating the former Juventus, Valencia and Benfica man at €45.7m (£39.3m).

This summer has already seen Arsenal spend a record amount on transfers: the Gunners have brought in Timber, Declan Rice and Kai Havertz for a combined €241.8 (£208m).

But with a Champions League campaign awaiting them, don’t be surprised to see one or two further new faces in at the Emirates Stadium between now and deadline day (September 1).