Having decided against including an option to buy in the deal taking Nuno Tavares from Arsenal to Marseille, it seemed Edu Gaspar, and perhaps even Mikel Arteta, wanted the Portuguese player to return to the Gunners this summer.
After all, the hope will have been for the left-back to follow in the footsteps of William Saliba, who developed hugely in the south of France last season, and while the wing-back has played a lot, his evolution has been very different.
So much so, in fact, that Marseille will be happy to send him back to Arsenal and move on for good, if RMC Sport journalist Florent German, relayed by Onze Mondial, is to be believed.
Looking at the defender’s situation and his past set of performances, it’s become clear that something has changed since the start of the season, with a lot of his weaknesses recently exposed by the opposition.
This, among other factors, has led to Marseille moving on from any potential idea of keeping the player beyond the current campaign.
Thus, a return to Arsenal, which seems to be the 23-year-old’s favoured option as well, appears to be on the cards.
Germain said: “Nuno Tavares is a frustrating case because we see that he has potential. For the leaders, in the balance for and against, at the start of the season, Tavares was seen as a good shot. But since some time, with the feedback that I have, they have told themselves that he is too inconsistent and that it is not going to work out.
“That is what is frustrating. You feel enormous potential in this player and we know that it’s a difficult position to sign someone who gives you so much offensively, but there are so many shortcomings and he’s an unreliable player.”
