Gremio ‘cannot guarantee’ that Bitello will not leave for Arsenal this summer but the Premier League outfit have not yet submitted an ‘official offer’ to the Brazilian outfit.
Earlier this week, Gremio’s own head coach indicated that the speculation hanging over Bitello’s head may be having a rather negative impact on the 23-year-old’s performances.
The versatile forward has not scored a goal nor provided an assist in any of his last seven games now. Fortunately for him, Arsenal do not appear to be dropping their interest in the wake of some less-than stellar displays; 90Min reporting that the Gunners are confident about winning a potential £8 million race ahead of Monaco, FC Porto and Russian giants Zenit St Petersburg.
Arsenal are big fans of Gremio forward Bitello
Gremio’s vice president, Antonio Brum, insists that neither Arsenal nor any of Bitello’s other suitors have made any concrete bids thus far.
But if that changes – and it probably will over the coming weeks – Gremio may be in no position to stand in his way.
“We received numerous queries for Bitello. But no official offers,” Brum tells Trivela.
“I can’t guarantee that he won’t leave or (that he will) stay until the end of the year. That depends a lot on what kind of offer arrives, and what sums it can reach.
“At some point, Gremio will need to make a big sale. I can’t guarantee if it will be now or at the end of the year. It will depend on the offers.
“We’ll have to analyse the club’s needs, but also without wasting assets. Let’s see what happens. There’s no guarantee.”
A right-sided forward who likes to drift in from the flank and thread clever through balls into the penalty area, Bitello struck up an excellent understanding with the arch-poacher Luis Suarez at Gremio, and could give Mikel Arteta a different sort of threat in the final third.
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