Arsenal 'offer £24m' for Carvalho, Vermalen nears Man U move

Gunners hope to sign Portuguese star if they can find the cash, Real Madrid in for James Rodriguez

William Carvalho
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Find £24m or take a hike, that's the message from Sporting Lisbon to Arsenal as the Gunners circle the Portuguese club's midfield maestro, William Carvalho. According to the Daily Telegraph, Arsenal have already made a £24m offer for the player, but it was rebuffed because the London club wanted to pay the money in two instalments.

It's believed that the 22-year-old Carvalho has a £35m buyout clause in his contract but Sporting would be prepared to drop the price but not if it means paying the money in two parts. As a result the deal hangs in the balance but the Telegraph speculates that Arsenal will accede to Sporting's wishes in order to get their hands on the defensive midfielder who has been likened to a young Patrick Vieira.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
Bill Mann is a football correspondent for The Week.co.uk, scouring the world's football press daily for the popular Transfer Talk column.