Tony Leen, he of the supposed Inside Source At Arsenal, appears to have some inside sources elsewhere as well, as he said on Twitter earlier today that he's hearing from both sides that a deal for William Carvalho could be moving forward - and relatively quickly, too.
Arsenal have mentioned,not formally offered, E30m for Carvalho. Sporting taking negotiating stance of E45m. Willing buyer and seller. (1/2).
— Tony Leen (@tonyleen) August 4, 2014
(2/2) Sporting know they've no chance of E45m for Carvalho so my reliable contact says expect gap to close fast between them and Arsenal.
— Tony Leen (@tonyleen) August 4, 2014
Direct quote from Sporting Lisbon source: "If you ask for 30m you're never going to get 31m. Negotiating..."
— Tony Leen (@tonyleen) August 4, 2014
Lots of folk asking whether Carvalho-to-Arsenal will happen. I don't make such decisions. But, as tweeted, willing vendor, willing buyer...
— Tony Leen (@tonyleen) August 4, 2014
If accurate, this would mean that the O Jogo report from earlier today that Arsenal hoped to have the player signed by week's end are also accurate. The quotes about both sides being willing to make a deal, and about negotiation, are particularly comforting. If the clubs are both eager to make a deal, that gets two of the main parties on the same page (that is, the one we want them to be on). As this Guardian profile from before the World Cup says, Carvalho was an Arsenal fan as a youngster, and that could help him turn his key.
[In 2004], Carvalho played as a No10 and loved Thierry Henry, becoming an Arsenal fan. Over the years, he started going back in midfield and you can see him as a mix between Yaya Touré and the classical Patrick Vieira.
So all we'd have to do is get agent Jorge Mendes out of the way, and a deal could be done. Again, that's not an easy task. But again (again), this summer has been full of atypical Arsenal transfer dealings. This could top it all off quite nicely. Hopefully this report is accurate, and things are moving forward. Because I'd like to have William Carvalho.