Reports in Brazil suggest that Grêmio have targeted Arsenal defender André Santos to solve their ongoing left-back problem, after their pursuit of Sporting Lisbon’s Emiliano Insua ended when he decided to join Atletico Madrid instead.
Grêmio have two left-backs in their squad but former Liverpool defender Fabio Aureilo has suffered a number of injuries since joining the club and Alex Telles has no experience at the highest level, despite his assured performance against LDU last week, having only just joined the club from Juventude.
“André Santos is one of our interests. We talked with Arsenal, but there is nothing certain. It is a very difficult negotiation,” President Fabio Koff told Zero Hora.
Santos, 29, has struggled since moving to Arsenal from Fenerbahce last summer, with fans getting on his back following a number of lacklustre performances and a perceived lack of fitness.
He now finds himself further down the pecking order at Arsenal after the Gunners signed Nacho Monreal from Malaga on the last day of the January transfer window.
However, Grêmio face a race against time to sign the player as the CBF will be off duty until Tuesday due to Carnaval and Tuesday is the last day to register players for this season’s Copa Libertadores.
Source: Zero Hora
