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Arsenal get boost in possible William Carvalho pursuit?

One of the many, many hurdles that kept the Portuguese midfielder out of London may be coming down.

there aren't any new Carvalho pictures, you guys
there aren't any new Carvalho pictures, you guys
Warren Little

Remember William Carvalho? He's a Portuguese midfielder/defender who was pursued by Arsenal back in the heady days of the summer transfer window. He ended up staying at Sporting Lisbon, for a bunch of reasons -- but one of those reasons may be about to disappear.

According to Hutt crime lord Sepp Blatter, FIFA will ban the convoluted near-money-laundering-scheme that is third-party player ownership, a practice that while not wide-spread, is very inconvenient when it does pop up. TPO is, in short, when part of the rights to a player is owned by the player, his agent, or a separate company, rather than full ownership by the club at which they play. It throws a wrench into the works when a TPO player is involved in a possible transfer, mainly because it adds another variable to the already complex interplay between selling club, buying club, player, agent, media, fans, and everything else that goes into a player purchase.

It's not going to be an immediate blanket ban, though. According to Blatter TPO will not be banned immediately but after a "transitional period," which frankly could mean almost anything, considering the source. I'd bet that the most likely course of action is that there will be a freeze on any future TPO deals -- that is, outside entities will not be allowed to make rights purchases going forward -- but all players who currently have divided rights will remain in such a position until a sale is made.

Long story short, this is probably a mostly good thing going forward, but for Arsenal and Carvalho not a lot is likely to change. And even if the third-party was forced to relinquish his rights, his agent is still Jorge Mendes, so there's all that to deal with. Also you're not allowed to buy players in September, so.