Arsenal 'to entertain summer bids for fringe left-back'

Arsenal are reportedly prepared to entertain summer bids for left-back Nuno Tavares, currently on loan at Nottingham Forest.

The Gunners poached the former Portugal Under-21 international from Benfica in the summer of 2021, and he played an important role for Mikel Arteta's men during their debut campaign.

With fellow left-back Kieran Tierney spending a while in the treatment room with injuries, Tavares made 13 Premier League starts and scored his first goal for the club in a home win over Manchester United.

The 24-year-old also registered one assist in the Premier League and EFL Cup, but he was also talked about for the wrong reasons in an FA Cup loss to Nottingham Forest, coming off in the first half and reacting angrily as the Gunners fell to a third-round exit.

Arsenal sanctioned a loan move to Marseille for Tavares in the 2022-23 season, where he showcased his attacking qualities with six goals from 39 games, but alleged disciplinary concerns also arose during his time in Ligue 1.

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With Oleksandr Zinchenko, Jurrien Timber, Takehiro Tomiyasu and Jakub Kiwior all capable of playing on the left, Arteta decided against re-integrating Tavares into the squad in pre-season and instead shipped him out to Nottingham Forest.

The defender has played just 11 times for the Tricky Trees in the current campaign, although he did become a regular starter for head coach Nuno Espirito Santo before picking up an injury in February.

Forest possess a £12m option to sign Tavares permanently, but they would not be expected to pursue such a move given their dire financial situation, meaning that the Portuguese is set to return to North London this summer.

Tavares's time in the capital may be short-lived, though, as according to football.london, the Gunners are open to selling him before his contract runs out in the summer of 2025.

While it remains to be seen how long Tavares will take to recover from his injury and what impact his layoff could have on interest from elsewhere, he is thought to be attracting the attention of Italian clubs.

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Igor Tudor - who managed Tavares at Marseille during the 2022-23 season - has just taken over as head coach of Lazio, succeeding Maurizio Sarri after the ex-Chelsea boss resigned from his post.

The Biancocelesti are said to be one of the teams keeping tabs on Tavares's future, and the summer window would be Arsenal's last realistic chance to recoup a respectable fee for the ex-Benfica man.

The Gunners forked out €8m (£6.9m) to bring the defender to the club three years ago, but after making 28 appearances in the 2021-22 season, he has not played for the club competitively since.

Tavares is one of two left-backs who could be bidding farewell to the Emirates this summer, as Real Sociedad loanee Tierney does not appear to be in Arteta's long-term plans either.

The Scotland international's contract runs for one more year than Tavares's, and Arsenal are rumoured to have set their asking price for the former Celtic man, who is not expected to sign for Sociedad permanently.