Arsenal working on £34m Fabio Vieira transfer as Arteta eyes Porto star

The two-time Primeira Liga winner could be poised for a Premier League switch as the Gunners step up their pursuit of the 22-year-old

Posted Friday, June 17, 2022 by Goal.com

Arsenal are working on a move for Porto midfielder Fabio Vieira, with Mikel Arteta eyeing a transfer raid for the midfielder, GOAL can confirm.

The 22-year-old has been linked with a switch to the Premier League before, having impressed over the past few seasons while helping the Primeira Liga outfit to two league championships plus Taca de Portugal success.

Arsenal's interest in him however appears to have emerged from out of the blue, but the Gunners are deep in negotiations over a reported €40 million (£34 million/$42 million) deal to bring the midfielder to London.

Arsenal's under-the-radar transfer

By Charles Watts, GOAL Arsenal correspondent

A bolt from the blue!

It’s not often that a transfer comes out of nowhere and takes almost everyone by surprise, but Arsenal’s move for Fabio Vieira has done exactly that.

The Porto midfielder has not been one of the names linked to Arsenal this summer, with the Gunners known to be targeting Leicester City’s Youri Tielemans. But Vieira could now be the first significant arrival of the transfer window at Emirates Stadium, with the Gunners working to finalise a deal for the 22-year-old.

Vieira is hardly a household name, but his numbers with Porto last season show he will add talent and creativity to the Arsenal midfield, should the deal go through.

Mikel Arteta is desperate to strengthen his squad this summer and while Vieira may not be the name everyone was expecting to see arrive, his potential arrival looks set to be the catalyst for a busy couple of months in north London.

Who is Arsenal target Fabio Vieira?

One of the most promising young talents to come out of Portugal's well-respected youth scene in the past few years, Vieira is a midfielder preparing to burst out onto the biggest scenes after superb domestic form.

A product of Porto's academy, he made the leap up to the senior side in 2019-20 before cementing his place over the following two years as a key performer for the club in their pursuit of domestic success.

A move to a bigger league among the European heavyweights is a natural progression - but with six goals in 27 top-flight games last term, it will be curious to see if he is able to bridge the gap successfully and deliver for the Gunners, as Arteta looks to bolster his team around the middle of the park.