Vinicius Junior has received his Spanish passport, allowing Real Madrid to resume their pursuit of Arsenal striker Gabriel Jesus.
It's believed the reigning European champions were seriously interested in signing Jesus in June but the move collapsed due to them having no non-EU spots available in their squad. La Liga clubs are allowed a maximum of three non-EU players on their books.
At the time, Jesus had just one year left on his Manchester City contract and was widely expected to complete a move after the arrival of Erling Haaland from Borussia Dortmund. Arsenal won the transfer race, agreeing a £45million deal with Pep Guardiola's side.
The 25-year-old has been in superb form since joining the Gunners, scoring three goals and providing three assists in six Premier League outings. His all-round game has been lauded, with many highlighting his tireless work as the vocal point of Arsenal attack.
Jesus' influence is obvious. Mikel Arteta's side are top of the Premier League, one point clear of champions Man City in second. They've won five of their six fixtures, suffering their first defeat of the season against Manchester United at Old Trafford on Sunday.
Real are expected to reconsider a move for Jesus now Vinicius has a Spanish passport. The other two non-EU players in Carlo Ancelotti's squad are fellow Brazilians Eder Militao and Rodrygo Goes. Uruguayan Federico Valverde already had a Spanish passport.
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Players from Ibero-American countries - including Brazil - are entitled to apply for a Spanish passport after two years of residency. It can then take up to two years for the government to approve an application. Vinicius joined Real from Flamengo in July 2018.
Although Real can now bid for Jesus, their chances of signing the Brazilian appear to be slim. Jesus is key to Arsenal's hopes of qualifying for the Champions League under Arteta this season and they will struggle to find another striker of his quality for £45m.
But Real president Florentino Perez isn't afraid to make big-money signings. When he was first elected as president in 2000, he broke the world-record transfer fee to sign Luis Figo from bitter rivals Barcelona - a transfer few thought was possible 12 months earlier.
Perez subsequently went on a crusade of signing the biggest names in football, known as the "Galactico" project. Arrivals included Zinedine Zidane, David Beckham, Michael Owen and the Brazilian Ronaldo. His first presidency ended in 2006.
When Perez was re-elected as president in 2009, his "Galactico" project was restored. Real went on to sign Kaka, Karim Benzema, Cristiano Ronaldo, Xabi Alonso, Angel Di Maria, Mesut Ozil, Luka Modric, Gareth Bale, Toni Kroos and James Rodriguez.
As such, it's obvious Perez isn't afraid to make a statement signing. Yet whether he's willing to break the bank for Jesus - at least in the next couple of transfer windows - remains to be seen. Jesus still has the best part of five years left on his existing deal.
