Arsenal defender Nuno Tavares is reportedly in talks with Brighton as the Premier League 's left-back merry-go-round, which also involves Manchester City, continues to gather pace.
With the Gunners having made no secret of their desire to bolster the left of their defence this summer, Tavares has seemingly found himself surplus to requirements at the Emirates. The Portugal Under-21 international deputised for the injury-ravaged Kieran Tierney at times last season, but struggled to assert himself as an able replacement.
The 22-year-old have attracted attention from Marseille and Atalanta this summer, but it now appears a loan move to Brighton could well be on the cards, especially if Marc Cucurella leaves the Seagulls. The chain reaction of left-back transfers is gathering pace and it can all be traced back to Arsenal themselves.
The Gunners are closing in on a deal to sign Oleksandr Zinchenko from City this summer. Following Arsenal's 3-1 pre-season friendly triumph over Orlando City in the United States on Thursday morning - a match in which the Ukrainian attended - Mikel Arteta confirmed a deal had been done, barring a "few formalities".
The transfer, understood to be in the region of £35million, has since sparked quite the domino effect. With City willing to sell Zinchenko, a versatile option who has predominantly been deployed at left-back, Pep Guardiola has identified Brighton's Marc Cucurella as his potential replacement.
Confirming talks with the Seagulls over the Spaniard, the City boss admitted: "We are in negotiations. If it doesn't happen, we have alternatives. [Joao] Cancelo, Wilson-Esbrand is a young talent, [Nathan] Ake can play there."
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With the Premier League champions keen to poach Brighton's left-back, Graham Potter's side appear to have, in turn, identified Arsenal's Tavares as his potential replacement. According to O JOGO, the Seagulls are now in talks with the Gunners over a potential loan deal for the left-back.
Tavares only joined Arsenal last summer for a fee of around £8m from Benfica, but it is thought Arteta is keen for the young full-back to gain experience elsewhere in order to develop his game. Largely as a result of Tierney's time on the treatment table, Tavares amassed 28 appearances across all competitions for the Gunners last campaign.
French outfit Marseille were thought to be leading the race for the Portuguese full-back, however, according to L'Equipe, Tavares now harbours doubts about signing for last season's Ligue 1 runners-up. It appears as though the feeling is mutual however, as the French outlet claim Marseille are themselves now unsure over signing Tavares.
Discussing the topic of transfers following Arsenal's latest pre-season success, Arteta admitted he expects a number of fringe players to be moved on before the summer window closes. The Gunners boss stated: "We have a large squad.
"We have to make some decisions as well on the players that we're not going to be using consistently and be fair and straight with them and that's a process that is going to start very soon as well. We have to [offload players]. We have a big squad and now we have to make things happen."
And so, Arsenal could well see a double benefit from signing Zinchenko this summer. It very much seems as though, with City keen on signing Cucurella as his replacement, Brighton will appease Arsenal too as they explore a deal for Tavares. The cycle is close to completion.
