Arsenal given green light to sign midfield target as club chief ‘cant guarantee’ star won’t leave | OneFootball

Bitello during game for Gremio

Gremio vice president Antonio Brum has stated he “can’t guarantee” Bitello will remain at the club, though it “depends on what kind of proposal will arrive”, with Arsenal waiting in the wings.

Having already spent more than £200million on fresh talent this summer, it doesn’t seem Arsenal are done there. Indeed, they’ve recently opened the bidding for Brentford goalkeeper David Raya, who could well compete for the no.1 spot with Aaron Ramsdale.

Another man who could conceivably walk through the door at the Emirates is Gremio midfielder Bitello. Interest in him has been reported for a little while, and a report at the end of July suggested the Gunners were ‘on the verge’ of signing the midfielder.

That would reportedly see him join for just under £7million. However, Gremio’s vice president Brum suggests there has been no proposal from the north London outfit yet, though they may well be one of the sides that have gotten in touch regarding the Brazilian.

“We received numerous queries for Bitello, but the new official proposal has none. We know that it may end up arriving this window extension time that we have,” Brum said, quoted by Trivela.

However, he seems to suggest if an offer was to come in, it might be enough to see Bitello depart.

“I can’t guarantee that he won’t leave or stay until the end of the year, that depends a lot on what kind of proposal will arrive, what type will arrive and what values can reach,” Brum added.

“At some point Grêmio will need to make a big sale. I can’t guarantee if it will be now or at the end of the year. It will depend on the proposals that may arrive.

“We’ll have to analyse the club’s needs, but also without wasting assets. Let’s see what will happen. There’s no guarantee.”

That seems to have given Arsenal a green light to pursue the midfielder fully. They’d surely be able to offer Gremio a sum that would force them to see the back of Bitello.

While they’ll not want to spend a huge amount, having already parted with a significant sum on a few players this summer, what would be an insignificant fee for them would probably be a good offer from a Gremio perspective, and they might chance their arm with that.