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Arsenal are interested in the services of FC Porto’s Fabio Vieira and are prepared to battle it out with rivals Liverpool for his signature…
THE LOWDOWN: EXCITING PROSPECT
An attacking midfielder by trade, Vieira has been a part of the FC Porto academy since 2008. He rode his way through the ranks to receive his promotion to the first team in the summer of 2020 before eventually enjoying his professional breakthrough during the 2020/21 campaign.
While the 21-year-old only played a bit-part role for the Portuguese champions last season, he has become a far more prominent figure in the first team in the ongoing campaign. With six goals and 14 assists in just 27 league matches, he has been the best playmaker in the Portuguese top-flight this term.
One Football have hailed him as a “rising star” and he already has 11 goals in 19 games for Portugal’s Under-21 side, with his manager there, Rui Jorge, hailing the Porto starlet as “a very technically advanced player’ with a ‘great future“.
THE LATEST: WANT TO TRANSFER
According to Turkish transfer journalist Ekrem Konur, the Gunners and Liverpool want to transfer the Porto star this summer.
The Liga NOS outfit are reportedly holding out for €30m (£25.3m).
According to a recent report from the Sunday Mirror (via TEAMtalk), Liverpool have agreed with Porto a first refusal option to sign midfielder Fabio Vieira.
It’s thought the young Portuguese has a release clause amounting to €15m (£12.7m) as the Reds close in on a potential swoop.
THE VERDICT: ARSENAL’S NEXT OZIL?
A product of Porto’s academy, the 21-year-old has made a total of 117 appearances for the club’s senior and youth sides.
In those appearances, the youngster has scored 23 goals and delivered 24 assists along the way, highlighting how much of an incredible attacking and creative threat he can be.
With 27 league games under his belt this season, the Portuguese wizard has found the net six times and delivered 14 assists, which is more than any other Porto player. He is also Liga NOS’ third-best assist maker for the 2021/22 campaign.
To further highlight how much of a dangerous attacking figure he is, no other player at Porto has managed to equal the number of crosses that Vieira (95) has made throughout this campaign. He’s also listed in the top 10 for shots per 90 minutes in the Portuguese league.
His overall performances have earned him a season rating of 7.45 from SofaScore, making him the fifth-best ranked player in the Porto squad.
This all shows why the midfielder has been likened to Mesut Ozil by football talent scout Jacek Kulig on Twitter, who also said that the player has a “left foot made of gold.”
This campaign has seen him register a whopping 14 big chances created, along with his 14 assists whilst also averaging 1.3 key passes per game showcasing his majestic abilities in the final third.
Taking into account how Arsenal have racked up the eight-best goal-creating actions (82) in the Premier League this season, possessing the qualities of the £13.5m-rated playmaker could certainly propel Mikel Arteta’s gameplan at the Emirates.
Such an incredible influence and abilities in the attack means the Gunners must certainly do all they can to acquire the services of Vieira this summer.
AND in other news, Arsenal ‘developing the idea of selling’ four-goal £27m-rated colossus, a must keep – opinion…
