Porto’s Fábio Vieira is set to join Arsenal in the coming days, in spite of Liverpool's prior interest in the player.
A report from The Mirror suggests Liverpool were granted first refusal regarding Vieira’s future when they signed Luis Diaz from Porto in January. Nonetheless, the Merseyside club have chosen not to stand in Arsenal’s way, with Fábio Vieira set to move to north London in a deal worth up to £34.2 million.
Considering Liverpool are on the hunt for a young midfielder to rejuvenate their ageing midfield, this might confuse Liverpool fans a bit.
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Vieira is regarded as one of Europe’s brightest up and coming engine room talents, and many believe Arsenal are getting him at a snip at the reported £34.2 million price tag.
However, Jürgen Klopp’s reported midfield targets insinuate the Anfield club could be looking for a different profile of midfielder to Vieira. Liverpool were heavily interested in Aurelien Tchouameni before he moved to Real Madrid and now are said to have their sights set on Jude Bellingham.
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At 5 ft 6, Vieira is considerably smaller than the aforementioned Liverpool midfield targets. He’s also more of a pure creator in midfield rather than an all-action man like Bellingham or Tchouameni. Much more of a Bernardo Silva than a Rodri.
Arsenal fans will be pleased to see Vieira make the switch to the Emirates Stadium though. He’ll lift some of the creative onus off of Martin Ødegaard’s back and he’ll provide cover on the right-wing for Bukayo Saka who simply never gets a rest day at Arsenal.
It’s a smart move from the Gunners to increase their squad depth, something which cost them last season in their hunt for a top four finish.
Liverpool will be hoping the 22-year-old midfielder won’t be too successful for Arsenal. They could be left a bit embarrassed if they really did have a free run at the midfielder and instead let him join Arsenal without batting an eyelid.
Featured Image Credit: AlamyTopics: Liverpool Transfer News & Rumours, Arsenal, Transfers, Liverpool