Marseille coach Igor Tudor reckons Arsenal loanee Nuno Tavares could play for Real Madrid or Barcelona.
Tavares signed for the Gunners from Benfica in 2021, but had a tricky start to life in north London, before being shipped out on loan to Marseille.
The 23-year-old has things around in France, scoring an eyebrow-raising six goals and helping them to second place in Ligue 1.
His form has impressed current manager Tudor so much that he reckons Tavares has the ability to play for one of Europe's elite clubs.
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"He is a boy who is still young," said Tudor.
"He has high level physical qualities. He has extraordinary explosiveness; he could play at Real Madrid, Barcelona or Manchester City.
"There are other things he needs to improve. He must progress, we often talk. There’s always room for improvement, we’re here to help. We make him see concrete things to improve."
Despite his manager's praise, Tavares' time at Arsenal looks to be up, with the Portugal international having allegedly 'annoyed' Gunners' boss Mikel Arteta.
Arteta annoyed by Tavares
Tavares is due to return to the Emirates at the end of the season where the club will evaluate his future at the club.
However, it is widely reported that the defender won't stick around for long, having 'annoyed' Arteta in north London, according to French news publication L'equipe.
Indeed, respected journalist Ben Jacobs claimed it is 'very unlikely' Tavares will play for Arsenal again.
Speaking to TEAMtalk, Jacobs explained: “With Tavares, I think it’s very unlikely that he’ll play for Arsenal again. That’s just a positional kind of thing."
“Zinchenko, Tierney, at the moment, is still there, Tomiyasu there, as well.
“And the thing with Tavares is that Arsenal can probably, if not definitely get a profit off him because he’s only 23 years of age and the fee that Arsenal paid in 2021 for Tavares was only £8m."
Topics: Arsenal, Mikel Arteta, Marseille, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Football, Transfers
Joe Adams