Arsenal striker Gabriel Jesus has only been at the club for five Premier League matches – and already the Gunners may have to fight to keep him.
That's according to one report that says that the Brazilian is a target of Real Madrid. Jesus has actually scored against Los Blancos during his time as a Manchester City player, impressing in the Champions League in 2020 and again in last season's semi-final tie.
But his time in north London could be a particularly short one if the European champions have their way – with another Brazilian being the deciding factor that could see Jesus move.
The Spanish giants wanted to pursue a deal for Jesus in the summer, apparently, though could because of La Liga rules limiting the number of non-EU stars in their squad to just three.
According to the Mirror, now that Vinicius Junior has received his Spanish passport, the club are set to re-ignite their interest in Jesus.
Jesus can play across the frontline and though he has featured as a centre-forward for Arsenal, he would most likely slot in on the right-wing at the Bernabeu. The 25-year-old has previously been open about his best position and not particularly minded playing on the righthand side.
This would allow Carlo Ancelotti to continue to field Vinicius on the left with Karim Benzema centrally.
Arsenal fans perhaps shouldn't prematurely worry about a deal, however. Jesus is one of the best-paid players at the Emirates Stadium, already third in line for the captaincy and has already settled in well to life in north London. It would be unlikely that manager Mikel Arteta would consider offers at such an early stage in the forward's Gunners career – and it would take a huge bid to prise him away.
Jesus is valued at around £45 million by Transfermarkt.
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After Nicolas Pepe left the Gunners for more minutes on loan at Nice, manager Mikel Arteta declared a desire to “add firepower”, though he could not guarantee a new player will come in. The Gunners still have interest in Pedro Neto, as well as a Ukrainian wonderkid.
Mohamed Elneny’s injury means that midfield is a little weak right now. FFT reported months ago that personal terms with Youri Tielemans were agreed, with the north Londoners just needing to agree a fee with Leicester: one obstacle remained on Deadline Day. In other news, Bukayo Saka has hinted that he’s close to extending his contract.
