Tottenham is still in the picture for Arthur Dias, although the race for the Athletico Paranaense defender is getting pretty crowded.
The 19-year-old has just returned from his first senior international break with Brazil. He’s come back with two caps, a first start and an even bigger profile than he had before leaving – which could help in an eventual Premier League move.
Now Tottenham already have Barcelona and several Premier League clubs for company. And there’s interest from Saudi Arabia as well.
Premier League still the preference
Brazilian insider outlets Três Pontos and Trétis reported that Saudi Arabian clubs have contacted Arthur’s representatives to ask about his situation.
There’s no proposal yet, and the player’s plans could make that route difficult anyway.
Arthur currently wants to continue his career in Europe. Better still for Tottenham, the Premier League is said to be the destination which appeals to him most.
Newcastle United, Nottingham Forest and Brentford have also shown interest during the season. Spurs, though, have gone further than their Premier League rivals. As we already covered, they offered €21m (£18.2m) for 80% of Arthur’s rights earlier this year.
That was rejected and Athletico continue to work with a minimum price of €30m (£26m).
Barcelona provide another complication. Sport have made their strong interest clear and the Catalan media followed Arthur’s first Brazil call-up particularly closely.
Also, it’s worth recalling Barcelona sent scouting chief João Amaral to watch him against Bahia last month. So this is becoming quite a collection of clubs around the youngster.
Arthur returns with two Brazil caps
His first spell under Carlo Ancelotti certainly didn’t hurt the growing attention. Arthur started on the bench for Brazil’s first game against Australia. He then made his senior debut in the second meeting, getting eight minutes of the 4-2 victory.
The bigger opportunity came against India. Ancelotti handed the Tottenham target his first international start. Arthur played 61 minutes and Brazil won 4-0.
| Date | Match | Result | Minutes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 25/09/26 | Australia v Brazil | 1-1 | – |
| 29/09/26 | Australia v Brazil | 2-4 | 8 |
| 03/10/26 | India v Brazil | 0-4 | 61 |
On top of that, Arthur received praise from Ancelotti during his time with the national team.
“I really liked Arthur Dias, whom I didn’t know”, said Ancelotti. “I’m getting to know these players much better. And Arthur was good. We have a future, despite the criticism”.
Well, Athletico don’t appear to be in any rush. Arthur is contracted until December 2028 and their €30m (£26m) asking price remains in place. But he is on his way to having a very busy summer next year.
