Arsenal ‘preparing’ to make effort to sign 22-year-old next month – Gunners hatching plan for transfer

Arsenal are ‘preparing’ to make an effort to sign Sporting Club de Portugal defender Gonçalo Inácio in the January transfer window.

That’s according to A Bola, who say Arsenal are ‘tightening their siege’ on the central defender and hatching a plan to ensure they win the race for his signature.

According to the newspaper’s information, Arsenal are now in a position to move forward with a proposal for the player that they know will have to be worth €60m, the value of the player’s release clause.

Inácio is one of the most coveted players at Sporting, having developed into a key player for the side over the last 18 months or so with a series of impressive performances.

He is regularly watched by the big clubs in Europe, particularly in the Premier League, where several clubs have consistently been linked with a move for him.

They consider a deal for him in January as non-negotiable, but they would be unable to do anything about a departure if any of the interested clubs matched his release clause. Arsenal are now in a position to do so.

They’ve been following Inácio since last season and are positioning themselves to be able to move forward with a concrete proposal in the coming weeks.

Sporting are seemingly aware of this and already planning for life without their key man, eyeing up a move for Famalicão central defender Otávio as his replacement.