Barcelona are supposedly preparing an offer to beat Arsenal to the signature of a 19-year-old centre-back dubbed the 'Brazilian Dean Huijsen'.
Mikel Arteta's defence once again stood firm to keep a clean sheet in Saturday's 3-0 Premier League victory over Nottingham Forest, in spite of the absence of William Saliba due to an ankle injury.
The Frenchman's deputy Cristhian Mosquera put in another composed performance alongside Gabriel Magalhaes in the rearguard, though, and Arteta also has new signing Piero Hincapie in his ranks as another defensive alternative.
However, there are no academy products really on the cusp of first-team football at Arsenal; the likes of Maldini Kacurri, Brayden Clarke and William Sweet are still continuing their development at youth level.
Ayden Heaven may have been a regular fixture in the first team by now, but the Hale End product was tempted away from North London by Manchester United, and the Gunners are now said to be eyeing a youthful defensive recruitment drive.
Barcelona 'preparing offer' to sign Arsenal-linked defender
Hansi Flick head coach of Barcelona pictured in August 2025
According to AS, 19-year-old Palmeiras centre-back Luis Benedetti is on Arsenal's transfer radar, but the Gunners may be beaten to the punch by La Liga champions Barcelona.
The Spanish outlet claims that La Blaugrana are willing to 'immediately' pay €12m (£10.4m) to bring Benedetti to Camp Nou, although their offer will fall slightly short of Palmeiras' €15m (£13m) asking price.
Nevertheless, Palmeiras will not demand the same €35m (£30.3m) that Manchester City paid for Vitor Reis earlier this year, although that does not mean that Benedetti is not so highly-rated.
The Brazilian side are expecting to keep hold of Benedetti for the remainder of the campaign as they compete for Brasileiro and Copa Libertadores glory, but they may be bracing for offers for the 2006-born defender during the January window.
Who is Benedetti and why is he the Brazilian Huijsen?
Real Madrid's Dean Huijsen pictured in June 2025
Already standing at 6ft 5in tall, Benedetti has inevitably drawn comparisons to Real Madrid new boy Huijsen owing to his tall and slender frame, but his playstyle also mimics that of the ex-Bournemouth man.
The report adds that Benedetti possesses an 'excellent ability' to play the ball out from the back, as well as striking pace and aerial dominance in both penalty areas.
The defender joined the Palmeiras academy setup from Ferroviaria in 2022 and quickly proved himself as a goalscoring centre-back, netting six times in 29 appearances for the club's Under-20 side.
Benedetti has now made six first-team appearances for Palmeiras, and he was an unused substitute in their Club World Cup quarter-final defeat to Chelsea earlier this summer.
The teenager extended his contract with Palmeiras as recently as April, and he is not due to become a free agent until New Year's Eve 2029.
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