Nuno Tavares' proposed loan move to Atalanta is now in doubt after the Serie A side reportedly refused Arsenal's request for a straight loan without an option to buy, according to Italian journalist Michele Criscitiello.
Atalanta are now said to have moved onto other targets which leaves the left-back's future up in the air. Tavares, who was brought in last summer for around £7m, finds himself available for a loan move following the recent arrival of Oleksandr Zinchenko.
While there are certainly no doubts over his potential, there is an acceptance that he remains quite raw at the young age of 22 and regular game time elsewhere is viewed as key for his development.
READ MORE: Edu hits £25m transfer roadblock as Arsenal dealt tough decision amid pressure from Serie A
Arsenal technical director Edu is believed to be working on a number of outgoings at the moment after Mikel Arteta highlighted the unhealthy squad size he currently finds himself working with.
"We have a large squad, so we have to make some decisions as well on the players that we're not going to be using consistently and be fair and straight with them, and that's a process that is going to start very soon as well," Arteta explained. "We have to (offload). We have a big squad, and now we have to make things happen."
Meanwhile, various reports claim goalkeeper Bernd Leno is closing in on a move to Fulham, while defender Pablo Mari continues to attract strong interest from Turkish side Fenerbahce.
Whether or not Tavares is able to find an agreement with another club remains to be seen, but it looks as if his next destination will not be Atalanta, as was initially anticipated.
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