Arsenal faced with big decision after €20m summer transfer agreement

Hamburger SV are planning to hold talks with Arsenal over midfielder Fabio Vieira, according to German media.

The promoted Bundesliga side pulled off a double whammy late in the summer transfer window when they signed Vieira and Albert Sambi Lokonga from the Gunners.

It was a sensational bit of business, with HSV also managing to sign Luka Vuskovic on loan from Tottenham. The 18-year-old has since become one of Europe’s most sought-after defenders.

Lokonga, too, has proved a brilliant acquisition. Arsenal, who have been notoriously bad sellers, agreed to part with the Belgian midfielder for just €300,000, and this now looks like one of the best deals in recent Bundesliga history.

Vieira’s impact, on the other hand, hasn’t quite been as spectacular. The Portuguese endured a pretty dire start to his time in Hamburg, receiving two red cards in quick succession, but he has been much improved in recent games.

HSV plan Vieira talks

According to MOPO, HSV are planning to hold talks with Arsenal over Vieira. That is because their loan deal for the 25-year-old includes a €20 million purchase option that the club simply can’t pay and that Vieira’s performances don’t justify.

This was already evident when the deal was announced and caused quite a stir on social media, with many fans bemused that HSV agreed to this. One supporter joked at the time that the club’s directors had spent too much time playing the video game Football Manager.

However, HSV will argue that they simply had no choice. There was no time for drawn-out negotiations, and given that the clause is not mandatory, there really wasn’t any downside to consenting to its inclusion.

No talks were held in January because HSV had different priorities, but they are now planning to sit down with Arsenal to see if the purchase option for Vieira can be renegotiated.

Whether Arsenal will agree to lower Vieira’s price tag remains to be seen. It is broadly in line with his Estimated Transfer Value (ETV) of €16.3m, and the Gunners need to do a better job of getting value from the sales of players who have no future at the club.

They will have realised that €300,000 for Lokonga was daylight robbery and will surely be keen to avoid a similar mistake with Vieira. He will undoubtedly also have admirers at clubs with a bit more financial muscle than HSV.

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