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Arsenal left back Nuno Tavares is set to leave the club on loan in the coming weeks, with Italian side Atalanta and Graham Potter’s Brighton the front runners for his signature.
The Portuguese full back joined Arsenal from Benfica in the summer of 2021 for a reported fee of £7M, tasked to be the deputy of the injury-prone Kieran Tierney.
He totalled 28 appearances across the season, 22 of which came in the Premier League – where he scored one goal, the opener in our 3-1 victory over Manchester United back in April.
However, Arsenal’s acquisition of Manchester City star Oleksandr Zinchenko, which is due to be announced very shortly, has thrown up doubts over the future of Nuno Tavares.
We now believe that the player is set to be allowed on loan, a decision which took a fair amount of deliberation from the Arsenal hierarchy.
Ligue 1 runners-up Olympique Marseille, who recently had both Matteo Guendouzi and William Saliba on loan from Arsenal, were early candidates for Tavares’ signing, however talks between clubs never progressed.
It is now thought that Premier League side Brighton and Italian outfit Atalanta are the two clubs most interested in the player.
Arsenal are not looking to sell the player, as they see him as an athlete with near perfect physical capacity, but who needs greater footballing experience at a high level. Naturally, one would assume the club would prefer him to gather experience in the Premier League, but it is Atalanta who have pushed hardest for Tavares so far.
With Brighton set to lose Marc Cucurella to Manchester City in the coming days, Tavares has emerged as a potential candidate to fill the left back spot next season – however it is true that Brighton tend to avoid players joining the club on loan, and very rarely do this. Despite this, they are seriously considering a move for Tavares – and Graham Potter likes the player.
Ultimately, the club that secure his signature will boil down to whoever can satisfy both Arsenal and the needs of player. A year away from the club on loan could be a game changer for Tavares; a chance to develop his decision making and footballing IQ at a level against top opposition.
AFCTALK 