Arsenal ready to launch shock £20m bid for 23-year-old to solve defensive headache

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Arsenal are reportedly considering making a £20m bid for Porto full-back Ricardo Pereira, with the 23-year-old impressing on loan at Nice this season.

The Portuguese international has made 20 appearances in all competitions for the Ligue 1 pacesetters after joining on a temporary basis from Porto, scoring once and adding three assists so far this season.

In turn, his impressive performances have attracted attention from around Europe, with The Daily Star reporting that Arsenal are amongst those keen on signing him but the Gunners will have to splash out £20m in order to sign him in the January transfer window.

Pereira is a versatile full-back who can play on either the left or right, but is predominantly used on the latter and so could prove to be solid competition for Hector Bellerin.

With Mathieu Debuchy’s future at the Emirates Stadium looking bleak, and with Carl Jenkinson struggling badly for confidence after a series of abject displays last year, it has emerged as a problem area for Arsene Wenger in the event that Bellerin picks up an injury.

Further, the Spaniard was rightly criticised this week after his display at Bournemouth, and so perhaps increased competition will keep him on his toes and ensure that his standards don’t slip.

As a result, it seems as though a move to bolster his right-back options would be a sensible move for Wenger, and judging by this report, he’s settled on Pereira being the man to sort the issue.

Having been left out of the Euro 2016 squad that was triumphant in France last summer, the full-back has produced the perfect response so far this season and would arguably jump at the chance to ply his trade in the Premier League and with a club like Arsenal.

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