Arsenal are reportedly negotiating with Bayern Munich to try and strike a deal to sign midfielder Joao Palhinha.
The Gunners have already made several additions in central midfield, as they signed Christian Norgaard from Brentford to help replace Jorginho and Thomas Partey.
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Furthermore, Arsenal also signed Martin Zubimendi from Real Sociedad to become their first choice holding midfielder. It will allow Declan Rice to play a higher role, something that he began to exceed in towards the back end of last season.
However, it now seems that Arsenal want another midfielder, as reports in Germany have said that the Gunners want to sign Bayern Munich, and former Fulham midfielder Joao Palhinha. A report by German outlet Bild has said that the Gunners have expressed a strong interest in the Portuguese midfielder.
The report includes that they were in ‘serious negotiations’ and that before the Club World Cup, Arsenal were close to securing a major transfer of Palhinha. It is understood that they remain keen on the 30-year-old.
Do Arsenal need Palhinha?
The biggest question with regards to the Bayern midfielder is whether the Gunners actually need to sign him. They already have a lot of depth in midfield, and have pressing needs in attack, which you would think they’d rather spend their money on.
However, Palhinha’s talent can’t be doubted, since moving from Fulham to Bayern last summer for a fee of £47m, the midfielder has made 25 appearances for the German giants. He spent the previous two years at Craven Cottage, where he scored eight goals, and provided one assist in 79 appearances.
Assuming that Arsenal would go after him, he would expected not to cost as much as Bayern paid for him last summer. His current market value is estimated to be around £26m, so he could be a good depth piece, but Arsenal certainly have other needs.
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