Arsenal demand at least £40m as Juve make ‘new’ approach for defender; ‘resume’ talks over midfielder

Juventus have made fresh contact with Arsenal over Gabriel Magalhaes with the Gunners keen on one of their midfielders, according to reports.

The Italian side have agreed to sell key defender Matthijs de Ligt to Bayern Munich for £68m with the Netherlands international set to sign a five-year deal at the Allianz Arena.

That means Juventus are now on the lookout for a new centre-back this summer with Max Allegri often playing three at the back with two wing-backs.

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And Arsenal defender Gabriel is towards the top of their list with previous reports of talks between Juventus and the Premier League club about the Brazilian.

However, those negotiations haven’t moved on and now Calciomercato insist that ‘there have been new contacts’ between the clubs with Gabriel said to ‘undoubtedly a Juve goal’ in the transfer market.

Arsenal are ‘not willing to go below a valuation of £40m’ but the report suggesting that the Premier League club only want hard cash for Gabriel and not players in exchange.

In a separate negotiation, TuttoMercatoWeb claims that Arsenal have ‘resumed’ negotiations with Juventus over the possibility of bringing Arthur Melo to the Emirates Stadium this summer.

The Gunners failed in their attempts to lure Arthur to north London in January and ‘the next few days can be important for the sale of Arthur’ with only Arsenal and Barcelona in the frame.

Meanwhile, former Premier League striker Noel Whelan thinks Arsenal would be “stupid” to sell Gabriel this summer.

Whelan told Football Insider: “I think they’d be stupid to sell him. He’s really grown over these past couple of years and built this relationship with Ben White in that back four.

“They’re looking to build – and he’s a big part of that in the defence. They were so frail at the back for a number of years, and his signing has made a real difference.

“He added goals, as well as good defending, last season. Arsenal would be silly to let him go right now when they’re trying to build a really solid defence.

“It doesn’t make sense to me. There’s always interest in good players, that will never change. But if you’re serious about building a team for longevity, you’ve got to keep these players.”