Romano: Nottm Forest ‘pushing hard’ to beat Arsenal to signing of €20m midfield target

Nottingham Forest have held talks with Brazilian club Palmeiras over a deal to sign Arsenal target Danilo, according to Fabrizio Romano.

The Gunners are in the market for a new central midfielder and explored the idea of bringing in the 21-year-old last summer.

It is unclear whether or not they lodged a bid to sign the young Brazilian, but they did attempt to bring in Aston Villa’s Douglas Luiz on deadline day.

Villa rejected two bids from Mikel Arteta’s side, who failed to bring in a midfielder to provide depth for Thomas Partey.

Arsenal’s top priority for the winter transfer window is Shakhtar Donetsk winger Mykhaylo Mudryk.

Arteta may look to bring in a midfielder as well as Mudryk, though they may be forced into action pretty soon should he look to bring in Danilo.

Multiple reports claim Premier League rivals Nottingham Forest have expressed an interest in the Brazilian.

Forest brought in over 20 new players in the summer transfer window ahead of their first season back in the top flight since 1998-99.

The Reds’ return to the Premier League has not quite gone to plan so far, though they recently climbed out of the relegation zone and are sitting relatively pretty in 15th.

Calciomercato (via Sport Witness) reported earlier this week that Forest, Aston Villa, Wolves, Leeds, Brighton, and Bournemouth have all approached Danilo.

French side AS Monaco are also believed to be interested, with SportItalia stating that it is between them and Forest, with the Premier League new boys ‘close’ to agreeing a deal.

And now Fabrizio Romano has given us some insight into the negotiations between Forest and Palmeiras.

Forest are ‘pushing’ to get a deal done after ‘ongoing talks’ overnight, with the English club ‘doing their best’ to agree a fee.

The fee discussed was ‘close to €20m’ and Monaco are ‘in the race’, though Steve Cooper’s side are ‘working hard to get it sealed’.

There were plenty of replies to Romano asking about interest from Arsenal.

The Italian journalist told one follower that the Gunners were ‘tracking’ Danilo but did not come close to signing him in the summer.

He adds that the Premier League leaders are not in talks with Palmeiras or the player’s representatives at the moment.

This does indicate Arsenal are not actively looking to sign Danilo, and may not be interested in bringing in a new midfielder at all.

After a summer of contemplating signing a central midfielder, Arteta and Edu only made a bid to bring in Douglas Luiz after Mohamed Elneny suffered an injury.

Arsenal missed out on top four last season after taking a chance in January, opting not to bring in a new striker after failing to sign Dusan Vlahovic following the departure of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

Arteta will be hoping to avoid a similar fate this season if they decide not to sign anyone other than Mudryk, with their title challenge becoming very serious.

Should Partey get injured, Arsenal could be absolutely f***ed. Elneny is a decent player, but he does not hold a candle to the Ghanaian and without him, the Gunners are a much worse side.

READ MORE: Transfer gossip: Chelsea stunned by Mudryk developments; Kane set same price as Arsenal target