Arsenal have joined Premier League rivals Wolves in keeping tabs on Lille centre-back Gabriel Magalhaes with a view to potentially signing him next summer.
Fixing Arsenal’s defence is likely to be one of the priorities for new head coach Mikel Arteta and the club are in the market for defenders.
But the Gunners are unlikely to spend heavily in January as most of their transfer budget for the year was spent last summer.
Arsenal are still looking at a number of players with a view to a summer move and according to The Athletic, Magalhaes is one of the defenders they are tracking.
The 22-year-old Brazilian defender has been impressing in France with Lille and is on the radar of several Premier League clubs, including Nuno's Wolves.
Arsenal are eyeing him as a potential partner for William Saliba, who will return to the club next summer following his loan stint at Saint-Etienne.
But the centre-back has been called up to the Brazil Under-23s squad with a view to him playing in the Olympics next summer.
His potential involvement next summer could rule out a move for Arsenal as he would miss the first five games of next season.
Arsenal want someone who will slot straight in and be part of their squad from the start of the campaign.
It remains to be seen if Wolves might move for him in January and how Arsenal would react.
