HSV Hamburg director Claus Costa flew to England earlier this week for discussions with Arsenal midfielder Fabio Vieira.
Thursday’s print edition of Hamburger Abendblatt report the HSV sporting director was in London to talk with the 26-year-old and potentially seal a deal with Arsenal for him.
The midfielder remains a target for the German side after spending last season on loan, becoming a key player in the process.
No Arsenal agreement
The newspaper explains that a return to Hamburg is not currently progressing for Fabio Vieira. He’s spent the entirety of pre-season with Arsenal, who have rejected Hamburg’s advances thus far.
The two sides remain far apart in their valuations of the player. So far Arsenal are unwilling to accept Hamburg’s offer of just under €10m. Sport Witness covered a report earlier this month explaining that they needed €10m more at least.
The Gunners continue to hope that another interested party will step forward before deadline day with a ‘significantly higher bid’. This has been confirmed to Claus Costa in person.
He met with Arsenal’s leadership, including Andrea Berta, the Gunner’s sporting director, to discuss a deal as part of his trip to London.
Meeting with Vieira
But the real intention of that trip was to meet with Fabio Vieira. Costa held a personal conversation with the 26-year-old to reiterate how much HSV want to sign him.
The trip was primarily a ‘gesture of appreciation’. The intention was to indicate that HSV will leave no stone unturned in their attempts to bring him back to the Volkspark Stadion.
One factor in their favour is that Vieira is desperate to play for the Hamburg club again following his loan spell last season. And pundit Dietmar Hamann believes that a deal is very much possible.
“If it comes down to a difference of one or two million, I would be inclined to go ahead and make the transfer,” he said.
“If Arsenal insists on €15m or €18m, then it becomes a game of poker.”
He believes that Vieira wanting the move is a “major trump card” for HSV, if it remains unchanged before the window closes.
“It will now depend on what options Arsenal and Vieira have. I can certainly imagine that other clubs are interested in him,” he added.
