Arsenal have stayed in contact with Endrick’s representatives as the Brazilian weighs up a January move, but the shape of the deal is the big problem.
According to TEAMtalk, Arsenal would look at a loan for the 20-year-old only if it came with an option to make it permanent. Real Madrid, who paid Palmeiras €70m (£60m) for him in July 2024, want a straight loan and nothing more.
AC Milan and Roma have no issue with that, and they’re reportedly pushing hard. So the Gunners are in the conversation, but they aren’t yet offering what Madrid want to hear.
Why do Arsenal still want Endrick?
Look at the week they’ve just had. Mikel Arteta’s side went out of the Carabao Cup on penalties to League Two Fleetwood Town on Tuesday, losing 5-3 after a 1-1 draw, and the finishing was the talking point again.
Viktor Gyokeres scored his first goal of the season that night, while Kai Havertz has now gone 561 minutes without one. Bukayo Saka is out with a quadriceps injury, Max Dowman has a three-match ban, and Christos Tzolis has only just returned to training before Sunday’s trip to Anfield.
Tzolis was also the only attacker they signed in a summer when Gabriel Martinelli left for Al-Hilal. The bigger targets have looked out of reach too: Atletico Madrid have reportedly said Julian Alvarez won’t leave in January, while Bournemouth don’t plan to sell Eli Junior Kroupi, who is valued at more than £100m.
The clause that splits the clubs
Madrid have been clear for weeks. They understand why Endrick’s camp are frustrated, but they don’t want to lose control of his future, so a permanent exit isn’t on the table.
That leaves the arrangement he had at Lyon in the second half of last season, when he scored eight goals in 21 appearances. Milan and Roma would sign up to that tomorrow. For Arsenal, it would mean developing someone else’s striker for six months, which is hard to justify when they also want a long-term answer. Club Brugge’s Nicolo Tresoldi is another forward on their radar, though January looks too soon for that one.
There’s also the player’s own view. He turned down several clubs in the summer, Arsenal among them, because he wanted to make it at Madrid. A move to Milan or Rome reportedly appeals to him as well.
Will Mourinho even let him go?
Not if he has his way. Asked about a January loan before Madrid’s Champions League game at Roma, Jose Mourinho said: “Forget it, forget it. Forget any interested clubs. They had better sit down, otherwise they will get tired waiting.”
He added: “He is a player I love, with incredible potential. He is very important to us. Anyone interested in him will have a serious fight on their hands with me.”
The minutes tell a different story. Endrick has played just 107 this season across four appearances, with one La Liga start, and he stayed on the bench when Madrid beat Barcelona. Behind Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Junior and Yan Diomande, and with Carlos Espi also competing, it’s hard to see where regular football comes from.
He did come on at the hour mark in Rome with Madrid 3-1 down and headed the late equaliser in a 4-3 win. Afterwards, he left the door ajar: “I take it day by day. If I have to leave in January, I’ll leave; if I have to stay, I’ll stay.”
Is an Endrick loan worth it for Arsenal?
We’d say only if the option comes with it. Arsenal need goals now, and Endrick’s spell at Lyon showed he can score them when he plays. But a straight loan helps Madrid as much as anyone, and it would hand Arteta a player he can’t plan around next season.
Staying in touch costs nothing, though. If Mourinho’s stance softens or Madrid shift on the clause, Arsenal will want to be first on the phone. Right now, that’s still two big ifs.
