Arsenal are set to benefit financially from a player they sold last summer.
Given how much they need to spend this window, every penny counts.
Nuno Tavares joined Lazio on a permanent basis in the summer of 2025 for £6million, having spent the previous season on loan there.
Arsenal were shrewd enough to insert a sell-on clause worth between 30 and 40 per cent into the deal.
Now, with Tavares closing in on a move away from the Stadio Olimpico, that clause looks set to be triggered.
Sum up Nuno Tavares’ disastrous spell at Arsenal in FIVE words or less…
Transfer insider Alfredo Pedulla reported on his YouTube channel that Tavares will leave Lazio, with Porto among the interested parties.
“I’ll repeat what I said. Tavares will leave, and there’s been direct contact with Farioli too, because Porto could be interested in Tavares and there’s competition.”
Fiorentina are also said to be interested, while Besiktas, who are also trying to sign Leandro Trossard, have already had a €10million offer rejected for Tavares.
According to The Laziali, Lazio could be persuaded to sell for around €20million.
With Arsenal’s sell-on clause sitting between 30 and 40 per cent, that would represent a windfall of around £6m for the Gunners, almost as much as they originally paid for him when he joined from Benfica in 2021.
Mikel Arteta famously lost patience with Nuno Tavares
Tavares’ one season at the Emirates was a difficult one.
Mikel Arteta famously substituted him after just 34 minutes of an FA Cup defeat to Nottingham Forest, which effectively summed up his time at the club.
Loan spells at Marseille and Nottingham Forest followed before his permanent exit to Lazio.
There is undeniable talent there. Physically, Tavares is exceptional, and his nine assists in 30 appearances during his first Lazio season showed exactly what he can offer going forward as a wing-back.
New Lazio manager Gennaro Gattuso is keen to keep him after the pair worked together at Marseille during the 2022/23 season, where Tavares excelled in an attacking role and scored six goals.
But Lazio’s financial situation may ultimately force their hand.
At 26, Tavares still has time to respark his career. Whether he does so at Lazio or elsewhere remains to be seen.
But for Arsenal, a sale could help Andrea Berta push incoming deals over the line.
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