According to La Provence, Marseille Sporting Director Pablo Longoria has travelled to London in an attempt to seal a loan deal for Arsenal defender Nuno Tavares.
Tavares joined the north Londoners from Benfica last summer before enduring a rollercoaster campaign at the Emirates Stadium. The young fullback showed promise at the start of the season, even keeping Scottish star Kieran Tierney out of the starting line-up in October. However, he struggled during the latter stages of the season, showing his defensive frailties and inexperience during the Gunners' final Premier League matches as Mikel Arteta's men missed out on a place in the top four.
Still, French side Marseille are said to be keen on signing the Portugal Under-21 international on loan this summer after helping Arsenal centre-back William Saliba develop last season, with the Frenchman winning Ligue 1's young player of the year award for his consistent performances during the 2021/22 campaign. Igor Tudor has arrived as Marseille's new manager and Tavares would likely fit the Croatian's style of play as the young coach tends to give freedom for his wing-backs to roam forward.
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Arsenal have been linked with Benfica left-back Alex Grimaldo, as well as Ajax star Lisandro Martinez as technical director Edu looks to further bolster Arteta's squad before next month's league opener against Crystal Palace. The Brazilian transfer chief has already splashed in excess of £80million to bring in Gabriel Jesus, Marquinhos, Matt Turner and Fabio Vieira.
football.london understands that the Gunners are keen to bolster the left-side of their defence this summer, although incoming may depend on the ability to offload a number of squad fringe players.
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