Arsenal complete a £27 million move for LOSC Lille’s Gabriel Magalhaes

09/01/2020

After weeks of speculation, Arsenal have finally confirmed that they’ve signed Lille defender Gabriel Magalhaes for £27 million with the center-back signing a five year deal. The 22-year-old had been linked with a move away from the Ligue 1 side with Manchester United and Napoli interested.

Despite interest from Napoli, Manchester City and Manchester United, Arsenal have announced that they’ve signed LOSC Lille defender Gabriel Magalhaes. The Brazilian international has been heavily linked with a move away after Lille owner Gerard Lopez confirmed that the 22-year-old had told the club he wanted to leave this summer. That combined with the defender’s performances during the 2019/20 season saw him linked with a move to Europe’s biggest sides.

However, the Guardian, amongst other news outlets, have revealed that the Arsenal hierarchy consisting of Edu, Mikel Arteta and Raul Sanllehi, before he left, played a key role in the move. It makes the Magalhaes the second move for the Gunners this summer with him joining fellow Brazilian Willian at the club. The defender has penned a five year deal and in an interview, Edu confirmed the move and revealed that the 22-year-old has been on the club’s radar for a while.

“We are delighted to have signed Gabriel. He is a player we have been studying for a while and he was in demand from many clubs, so we are proud to have agreed and completed this transfer with Lille and the player. Gabriel is a player of high quality and Mikel and his coaches are looking forward to integrating him into the club,” Edu told Arsenal’s official website.