Arsenal line up £30million summer transfer swoop for Lille defender Gabriel Magalhaes – The Sun

ARSENAL are monitoring Lille defender Gabriel Magalhaes with a view to a summer move for the 22-year-old Brazilian.

But they have been warned that the powerful centre-half will not come cheap after making an inquiry during the January transfer window.

Lille president Gerard Lopez has already proved himself an extremely tough negotiator after holding out for a club record £72million fee from the Gunners for Nicolas Pepe in the summer.

And he is likely to demand almost £30million for Gabriel despite paying just £1.5million to bring him to northern France three years ago.

Lille’s valuation is based on the £27million fee which Arsenal have paid St.Etienne for William Saliba, who was signed last summer but has remained on loan in France for the season.

CONVEYOR BELT OF STARS

They have already taken steps to protect their investment by handing Gabriel an extended contract to 2023 and will use counter interest from Everton to push the price as high as possible.

The French club have thrived in recent years from selling stars such as Eden Hazard, Gervinho, Dmitri Payet, Divock Origi, Idrissa Gueye and Adama Traore as well as Pepe.

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