Marseille have been strongly linked Mattéo Guendouzi for all of this month.
A Bola on Monday explain the Ligue 1 side are ‘attentive’ to the Arsenal midfielder’s situation, but Benfica could snatch the player away from them.
Jorge Jesus wants to strengthen his side’s core, and the negotiations to sign AS Roma’s Steven Nzonzi are at an advanced stage. The Eagles manager wants to bring in another midfielder, and therefore, the Arsenal player has been identified as a target.
It’s claimed there were contacts between the Portuguese club and Guendouzi’s entourage ‘about 15-20 days ago’, and it was done to ‘assess the chances of a possible deal’.
Benfica also contacted Mikel Arteta’s side, to understand the demands of the Premier League club. Arsenal asked for €15m and this figure didn’t please the leaders of Benfica.
The English club aren’t willing to give any discounts to the French club, giving Benfica a new window of opportunity to negotiate with Arsenal. 
A Bola explain Benfica have received a positive response, that they will try to negotiate well below the €15m valuation.
Guendouzi spent last season on loan at Hertha Berlin, where he suffered an injury at the start of May.
The report adds the recovery time is ‘unknown’, but that’s not an obstacle for Benfica or other suitors.
