Much uncertainty still surrounds Gabriel Jesus' future, but it appears he will remain in the Premier League this summer. That's according to Italian transfer expert Fabrizio Romano, who is reporting that the 'expectation' is for him to join another club in the English top-flight division.
This will somewhat come as a positive update to Mikel Arteta, following claims that Carlo Ancelotti wants the player to join Real Madrid. football.london previously reported that talks between Arsenal and Jesus' representatives had been taking place over the last few months, with his agent publicly confirming the Gunners' interest.
“We had talks with Arsenal about Gabriel Jesus,” Marcelo Pettinati said last month. “We like the project – it’s a possibility we’re discussing. There are six more clubs interested in Gabriel.”
READ MORE: Mikel Arteta handed Gabriel Jesus boost after Serge Gnabry snub paves way for £55m Arsenal deal
Romano's latest update suggests Arsenal could now be better positioned to finally wrap up a deal for the Manchester City forward, who is believed to want a leading role at his next destination. However, although his preference to stay in the Premier League can be viewed as a slight boost, Arteta and technical director Edu still face competition.
Various reports have also linked London rivals Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea to the 25-year-old, both of whom can offer Champions League football. Thankfully for Arsenal, they find themselves in a situation where the main centre-forward role is on offer following the departures of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette, an important factor which is likely to satisfy Jesus.
Meanwhile, both Spurs and Chelsea already have that area sorted with the likes of Harry Kane and Romelu Lukaku respectively, although the latter's own future is in doubt too. Because of this, Arsenal cannot afford to get complacent and waste time. Positive communications between the club and the player may have already taken place, but the longer this one drags on, the more complicated it could become.
What has become clear though is that Jesus' decision will be based more on the project and the role that comes with it, and feeling wanted is a big part of that. You get the sense that if Arsenal pay up then a deal would be finalised pretty swiftly, but if thumbs are twiddled for too long, the risk of changing the player's mind increases.
I'm personally still confident we'll get this one over the line, Arteta and Jesus know each other well, Manchester City will have a good relationship with Arsenal and the aforementioned teams just aren't in a position to follow anything up right now.
The only concern I have is that if Lukaku leaves Chelsea, this saga could take a whole new turn. Who knows, maybe we're just waiting for the international break to pass before wrapping things up.
