Arsenal news: 'Next Bellingham' race entered as silence broken on 'intense' transfer saga

· Mirror

Arsenal are showing interest in a midfielder who has been likened to Jude Bellingham

Arsenal's stars continue to impress on international duty as Gunners fans wait patiently for the return of club football. An impressive 17 Arsenal players were selected to represent their nations for the recent international break.

Several of them have thrived and even got on the scoresheet in recent days, including Mikel Merino, Viktor Gyokeres and Bukayo Saka, who bagged a brace in England's 7-0 win over Croatia on Saturday.

But while Gunners boss Mikel Arteta will be happy that some of his players have found form, others have suffered injury scares during the break. Martin Odegaard seems to have recovered from Bernardo Silva's rogue challenge on him, though Christos Tzolis and Kai Havertz may face late fitness tests ahead of the reigning champions' return to Premier League action.

They face Leeds United on Saturday as they look to put things right after the shock 3-0 defeat to Brighton before the break. Now, Mirror Football takes a look at two of the latest transfer stories involving the north Londoners.

'Next Jude Bellingham' eyed

Arsenal are reportedly serious contenders to land Borussia Dortmund wonderkid Justin Ejodamen, who has been described in the media as the next Jude Bellingham. The 15-year-old midfielder’s profile has been likened to the Englishman, who signed for Dortmund as a 17-year-old and has gone on to become one of the best midfielders in the world.

The teenager is already being tracked by some of Europe’s biggest clubs, including AC Milan and Juventus, although Barcelona reportedly lead the chase. English clubs Chelsea and Arsenal are keen on the player too given his huge potential.

TEAMtalk reports that Arsenal’s recruitment team has been monitoring Ejodamen’s performances and may look to land him if the opportunity presents itself at a later date. However, they face a significant hurdle.

The midfielder turns 16 in April, after which clubs within the EU can sign him, while English teams are unable to until 2029. Dortmund also remain confident of keeping hold of the talented teenager, given their long-standing reputation for developing youngsters into world-class players.

Ejodamen currently represents Italy at youth international level despite being born in Germany. He is also eligible to play for Nigeria.

Fabio Vieira breaks silence

Fabio Vieira has opened up about his nerves in the final days of the transfer window, before he sealed his deadline day move to Hamburg. The German club, where the 26-year-old spent last season on loan, were reluctant to meet the Gunners’ asking price for much of the summer, with neither side willing to budge.

Vieira’s preference for a move to Hamburg was always clear, given he was clearly not part of Arteta’s plans. He had to remain patient throughout the negotiations, which made for a tense final few days ahead of deadline day. Eventually, Arsenal were forced to accept a cut fee of £8.6million as Vieira was left delighted, having secured his preferred move.

Speaking to Sky Sports, Vieira said:

> "The last two or three days in particular were quite intense. I was a bit nervous because I didn’t know if everything would really work out. But in the end, everything went well. Now I’m here and very happy about it."

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