Arsenal are ‘best positioned’ to sign Sporting Lisbon centre-back Goncalo Inacio, according to reports in Portugal.
Inacio is set to be one of the most in-demand defenders of the January transfer window, with Real Madrid and a number of Premier League clubs having extensively scouted his progress at Sporting.
A Bola are reporting that Sporting are ‘resigned to losing’ Inacio in the upcoming transfer window and that Arsenal are frontrunners to sign the defender. Mikel Arteta is keen to add another option to his backline, with Jurrien Timber currently sidelined with a long-term knee problem.
Manchester United and Liverpool are also understood to be long-term admirers of Inacio, who has won five caps for Portugal since his international debut in 2022. Real Madrid are also admirers, with the Spanish side looking at options after injuries to David Alaba and Eder Militao.
Sporting, who currently lead the title race in Portugal by one point, will only allow Inacio to leave in January if a club activates his €60m (£52.1m) release clause.
A ball-playing defender, the 22-year-old leads Portugal’s Primeira Liga for passes into the final third (104), touches (1206), and progressive carrying distance this season, while ranking fourth in the division for progressive passes and fifth for progressive passing distance.
