Sporting Lisbon have one of the most wanted midfielders in Europe right now. Their defensive giant William Carvalho has been linked with a move to England, Spain, or Italy for a long time. It now appears that Arsenal are moving closer to signing him after the player confirmed that England might be his next destination. The 22-year-old is rated at around £ 25 million. It is this transfer fee that put off a couple of clubs during the summer. However, Arsenal appear to have taken a different stance by realising the importance of a top-quality defensive midfielder in the team.

They appear ready to make an offer for the Portuguese. The Premier League has witnessed a number of players coming from Porto to another Portuguese clubs and going on to become a great success. Carvalho will become one of the several imports who have preceded him. Carvalho has been a regular first-team player for the Portuguese club, who have been involved in the Champions League this season. They recently came up against English opponents Chelsea. This pitted Carvalho against the Brazilian players like Oscar in a Chelsea team. Sporting came out with a narrow defeat against the 2012 champions.

Carvalho, however, has also said that rule to Spain cannot be ruled out with Barcelona and Real Madrid monitoring his situation. “I would not say I was disappointed [to stay], but despite being very happy at Sporting, we all have ambitions and I hope one day to be playing in the best leagues in the world, the English or Spanish. It did not happen this year, but if I continue to do my job as I have been doing for sure that sooner or later it will happen. I understand the proposals, but I think that there was no value for the clause and therefore they have been refused,” said Carvalho.