Arsenal boost midfield with £34m deal for Vieira

Arsenal have agreed a deal worth up to £34million for Porto’s Fabio Vieira in a move that kickstarts another summer spending spree under Mikel Arteta.

The signing of Vieira, a 22-yearold attacking midfielder, is expected to be completed imminently after Porto released a statement confirming that Arsenal would pay an initial £30million for the Portugal Under21 midfielder.

The move does not signal the end of Arsenal’s interest in Leicester City’s Youri Tielemans, who remains on the club’s radar as Arteta looks to increase his squad depth ahead of their return to European football.

Arsenal are also hopeful of concluding a move for Manchester City forward Gabriel Jesus. City want £50million for the Brazilian, who has one year remaining on his contract, and Arsenal have so far failed to meet that valuation.

Arsenal spent about £150 million last summer and are ready to invest heavily again, having cleared considerable space on their wage bill in January due to the exits of Pierreemerick Aubameyang, Sead Kolasinac and Calum Chambers.

They finished last season with one of the smallest squads in the Premier League and there is an acceptance that Arteta will need more options as he attempts to juggle European commitments with league fixtures next term.

Vieira is regarded as one of the brightest talents in Portugal, having been named player of the tournament at last year’s European Under21 Championship. He was effectively the most creative player in the Portuguese Primeira Liga last season, producing more assists per game than any other player. He finished the campaign with six goals and 14 assists in all competitions.

Vieira will provide competition for Martin Odegaard in the attacking midfield position, and could also play out wide as support for the likes of Bukayo Saka, Emile Smith Rowe and Gabriel Martinelli.

Arsenal will hope that Vieira follows in the path of successful recent arrivals to the Premier League from Portugal. Liverpool’s Luis Diaz, Manchester City’s Ruben Dias and Manchester United’s Bruno Fernandes have all impressed following big-money transfers.

Meanwhile, Telegraph Sport understands Arsenal are close to finalising Eddie Nketiah’s new deal. He finished last season in fine form, scoring five goals in the final seven matches, and has been convinced to commit to the Emirates despite interest from a number of other clubs, including Crystal Palace.

Nketiah’s previous deal expires this summer, meaning he would have been able to leave the club as a free agent. The 23-year-old will expect to compete for a starting place next season.