**Atletico Madrid have “reached an agreement” on personal terms with Arsenal transfer target Morten Hjulmand, according to reports in the Portuguese media.**
Tabloid [_A BOLA_](https://www.abola.pt/noticias/mercado-sporting-hjulmand-e-atl-madrid-com-principio-de-acordo-2026063013114568286) claim that Sporting Lisbon’s captain is getting “closer and closer” to leaving the club for Spain.
The same newspaper [**named**](https://goonernews.com/blog/arsenal-transfer-news-morten-hjulmand/) the Gunners and Manchester City as other potential suitors for Hjulmand last month.
However, it appears Atletico are the only team who are pushing to secure the Denmark international’s signature.
Hjulmand would be cheaper to buy than Bruno Guimaraes
-----------------------------------------------------
It is believed that the midfielder has a gentleman’s agreement with his club Sporting that he can leave for a fee between €40m (£34.4m) and €50m (£43m), despite having an €80m (£69m) release clause in his contract.
Considering Arsenal have reportedly had a £55m bid turned down by Newcastle for their captain Bruno Guimaraes, it seems they have decided that Hjulmand isn’t a better alternative, despite being available for a lower amount.
Since joining Sporting in 2023, the Dane has won two Liga Portugal titles and the Portuguese Cup, whilst also reaching the Champions League quarter-finals last campaign, where they lost narrowly to Arsenal 1-0 on aggregate over two legs.
Arsenal are looking at several midfielders
------------------------------------------
While Guimaraes appears to be the priority at the moment, sporting director Andrea Berta is also scouring the market for potential alternatives.
An enquiry has been made for Bournemouth’s Alex Scott, and they have reportedly been in touch with the representatives of other players, including Lille’s Ayyoub Bouaddi, Roma’s Manu Kone, Eintracht Frankfurt’s Hugo Larsson and Sandro Tonali.
Hjulmand may well have featured on Berta’s list, but he is clearly not a primary target, based on the fact that they are allowing Atletico a free run to secure his services.
At the moment, it appears either Guimaraes, Scott or (potentially) Bouaddi are the ones being most closely looked at to strengthen the middle of the park.