Barcelona are reportedly set to rival Arsenal for Brazilian wonderkid Danilo.
The Gunners have been linked with a swoop for the Palmeiras midfielder for the past year with Mikel Arteta still keen on bolstering his options in the centre of the park. A bid was reportedly turned down in the summer and it remains to be seen whether the North Londoners return to the negotiating table.
Palmeiras president Leila Mejdalani Pereira has suggested that if the Brazilian club end up receiving a similar offer this time around, it could be accepted. Speaking to geglobo, he said: “Danilo is a very important player for our squad.
"As of now, we’ve not received any proposal from teams abroad. We haven’t had any consultations, if we do, we will analyse what’s best for Palmeiras and the player."
However, there is a major problem facing Arsenal and that is apparent interest in Danilo from Spanish giants Barcelona. According to Estadio Deportivo, the Catalans are interested in the 21-year-old and see him as a potential successor to Sergio Busquets, but cannot afford the fee that it will take to sign him.
As a result, they are attempting to put together a plan that will see joint-ownership of the player between themselves and fellow LaLiga outfit Real Betis. That would result in a similar deal to the one which took Brazilian defender Emerson Royal to the Camp Nou back in January 2019.
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The 23-year-old was co-owned by both Barca and Betis with the former exercising their right to sign him outright for an £8m fee after a two-and-a-half year spell in Andalusia. He would not stay with Barcelona for very long with Tottenham making a move for the Brazilian after just three matches of the campaign, with the Spanish club's financial hardships forcing them to sell.
But Spurs had to fork out a fee of €30m (£25.8m) just weeks after Barcelona had bought Royal back, with Betis cashing in £5m of that as part of their 20% sell-on clause, which no doubt drove the price up. Emerson has since struggled to convince during his time in North London having battled with Matt Doherty for the right-back role. He has gone on to make 61 appearances for Spurs since his arrival, scoring just once.
It remains to be seen whether Betis will be tempted into going through with a repeat plan but there are suggestions they could be convinced considering the little risk posed to them. That could potentially force Arsenal to move onto alternative targets, while if they remain interested in Danilo, they could face paying a higher fee in the future if the midfielder goes via Barcelona.
Youri Tielemans remains linked with a switch to the Emirates Stadium and he could be available for a cut-price fee with his contract set to expire in the summer. However, reports have suggested the Gunners have cooled their interest in the Belgian international with a January move looking unlikely.
A striker remains on their winter shopping list with Atletico Madrid's Joao Felix a loan option.