The agent of Arsenal defender Nuno Tavares has confirmed that the Portugal Under-21 international is keen to stay with the Gunners and make a name for himself in North London.
The 23-year-old was brought to the Emirates Stadium in 2021 as a backup for Kieran Tierney and initially impressed during the Scotland international's absences.
However, Tavares's fortunes soon took a turn for the worse, and he was memorably substituted in the first half of an FA Cup third-round loss to Nottingham Forest two seasons ago.
While displaying flashes of quality going forward, the Portuguese youngster was criticised for perceived erratic defensive displays and fell further down the pecking order when Oleksandr Zinchenko arrived in North London, subsequently signing for Marseille on loan.
Primarily occupying a wing-back role in Ligue 1, Tavares registered six goals in 39 matches during a productive season on the field, scoring in three of his first four French top-flight appearances.
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The left-back also played every minute of Marseille's short-lived run in the Champions League, which ended in the group stage, but Les Olympiens will return to the top tier of European football thanks to their third-placed finish last season.
On the other hand, Tavares's relationship with former manager Igor Tudor allegedly became strained due to concerns over the 23-year-old's attitude, and he was dropped from the squad on more than one occasion.
Marseille have elected not to make a permanent bid for Tavares, who will soon return to Arsenal's London Colney base for pre-season training amid reports of interest from West Ham United and Galatasaray.
The former Benfica man is still contracted to the Gunners until 2025, though, and his representative Cesar Bonaventura told Turkish journalist Tibet Tore that his client wants to continue at Arsenal.
However, Bonaventura refused to close the door on a possible move away, saying: "Nuno is still under contract at Arsenal. He wants to stay in the team but we'll see what happens in the future."
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Tavares's debut season at Arsenal saw the left-back score one goal and set up two more in 28 matches for the club, opening his account in a 3-1 home win over Manchester United.
The defender also started every game for Portugal during their recently-ended run at the Under-21 European Championships, where they were knocked out in the quarter-finals by England on Sunday.
Arsenal are already expected to lose one left-back this summer, as Tierney is being tipped to depart after playing second fiddle to Zinchenko during the 2022-23 campaign.
Newcastle United are believed to be at the head of the queue for the Scotland international, who has also apparently given thought to the idea of a return to Celtic on loan.
Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Pablo Mari have already left for pastures new this summer, while the likes of Rob Holding, Cedric Soares, Alex Runarsson, Auston Trusty, Granit Xhaka, Folarin Balogun, Nicolas Pepe, Thomas Partey and Albert Sambi Lokonga could follow suit.
Ben Knapton
