After a defensive letdown in the 2020-21 season, Arsenal will look to bring in some fresh defensive re-enforcements as for this year’s summer transfer market. A few defensive players have caught the eyes of Mikel Arteta and one such youngster is the 21 year-old Portuguese left-back Nuno Tavares.
About the Player – Nuno Tavares
Nuno Albertino Varela Tavares or Nuno Tavares (for short) was born on the 26th of January 2000 in Lisbon, Portugal. He plays in a Left-back (LB) position and currently plays for the Portuguese club Benfica F.C
He started his footballing career by first signing for the Portuguese club Casa Pia from 2009 to 2010 and then played for Sporting Lisbon for around 3 years from 2010 to2013 and then made a comeback to his former club Casa Pia till 2015 before making his big move to Benfica F.C. He first played for Benfica F.C’s B team as he debuted for them on the 27th of October 2018 and then gone onto make a total of 19 appearances for the team before eventually being selected for the club’s first team. He debuted as a first team player for the Benfica F.C on 4th August, 2019 and have currently made a total of 25 appearances for the club in which he scored a goal and have successfully made 2 assists.
What could he bring for Arsenal F.C?
For Mikel Arteta, he is a young and an emerging prospect who shows a lot of promise on the field. He is just 21 years old and has a lot to offer. Also being 6 ft(1.83m) tall left-back helps him more defensively than offensively. Still, he is more of a attack-minded left-back who has got a powerful surging forward runs with the ball which helps the team in counter-attack. Also, the fact that he can play as a right-back brings in more versatility to the team.
In the 2020-21 season, while Kieran Tierney was injured Mikel Arteta didn’t have another proper left-back under his disposal and was forced to use either Granit Xhaka or their star offensive player Bukayo Saka. But now that Kieran Tierney has signed a 5-year contract and also by buying Nuno Tavares, Arteta will look to strengthen his left-back position for the long-run. Also, because that he can play in the right-back position as-well, he can be a long-term replacement for Hector Bellerin in that position.
All-in-all, he is a great player who is yet to prove his talent in the big leagues and playing for a big team like Arsenal and that to in a top league like the English Premier League will only result in him growing as a player.
Tracking the Transfer
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According to the Italian journalist Fabrizio Romano, Benfica regarded his price to be around £12-15 million fee but Arsenal’s initial bid of £8 million is said to be finalized without including any bonuses but a couple of secondary add-ons.
The deal is said to be done as for now, as personal terms are not an issue for Arsenal and the only thing which remains is for Tavares to sign on the dotted-lines for his first contract deal, which is a 5-year contract with the North London club.
