Fabio Vieira is surplus to requirements at Arsenal and is therefore expected to leave the North London club this summer.
Vieira spent the duration of the 2024/25 campaign on loan at Porto, where he made 26 Primeira Liga appearances, scoring four goals and registering four assists in the process.
Porto want to sign Vieira permanently, although they’re not expected to be able to meet the Gunners’ demands for the player and are likely to miss out.
That said, the North Londoners could leverage this interest in the Portuguese playmaker by enacting a swap deal and sorting out one of their own summer needs in the process.
Arsenal should swap Fabio Vieira for defender Otavio
Arsenal want to sign a defender this summer.
Marc Guehi has been linked with a move to the Emirates, as have the likes of Jorrel Hato and Christhian Mosquera.
However, Guehi is unlikely to accept a squad role in N5, while Hato is also wanted by Chelsea and Liverpool, and Mosquera is a target for RB Leipzig.
With other areas of the squad needing more attention in the transfer market, the Gunners could conveniently settle their defensive recruitment issue by using Vieira.
Porto have a few defenders at their disposal who would slot in nicely to Mikel Arteta’s squad as Gabriel Magalhaes and William Saliba back-ups, none more so than Otavio.
Andrea Berta should propose an exchange of players to Porto, offering them Vieira for the Brazilian centre-back, who reportedly has a £42.5 million release clause.
A combative 23-year-old who boasts the physical attributes required to play in the Premier League, Otavio is also exceptional on the ball.
The Gunners need a defender who is confident playing in a possession-based system, and, according to FBRef, Otavio sits in the 98th percentile for progressive passes per 90 compared to other centre-halves in Europe.
Given Porto have several other options at the heart of their defence and appear desperate to retain Vieira, the deal makes perfect sense for both Arsenal and the Portuguese giants.
Arsenal will struggle to sell Fabio Vieira for a meaningful fee
If Arsenal don’t come up with a creative solution like a swap deal for Vieira, they may struggle to sell the midfielder.
Vieira had an indifferent season at Porto, and doesn’t exactly have a long list of potential suitors.
Clubs in the Premier League are Arsenal’s most likely bet to pay a significant fee for the Portuguese star, but after struggling to deal with the physicality of the English top flight, teams from the British Isles aren’t lining up to take him.
On the continent, the sorts of clubs who would be interested in signing him, like Porto, simply don’t have the finances available to them to meet Arsenal’s demands.
Assuming the Gunners want at least half of the £34 million they paid for him, they will either have to fold on these wishes or propose a swap deal.
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