Ibrahima Bamba agent plays down talks of imminent Arsenal move

The agent of Vitoria de Guimaraes midfielder Ibrahima Bamba has played down speculation linking his client with a move to Arsenal.

The Gunners have already recruited two new players so far this month, with attacker Leandro Trossard and defender Jakub Kiwior moving to the Emirates Stadium from Brighton & Hove Albion and Spezia respectively.

With less than a week remaining in the January transfer window, Mikel Arteta has admitted that he is keen to bolster his squad further by signing a new centre-midfielder.

"Well, we need some more cover in midfield ideally if we can but obviously, in this market, it's very complicated to do that," Arteta told reporters on Wednesday.

"But as I always say the most important thing is that we get the performances and the time on the pitch that we need with the players we have available today that are already really good."

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The Gunners are understood to have identified West Ham United's Declan Rice as their top target, but a potential big-money move will likely have to wait until the summer.

The likes of Brighton's Moises Caicedo, Real Sociedad's Martin Zubimendi and Everton's Amadou Onana have also been linked with a move to North London, while 20-year-old Bamba has recently emerged as the latest name on their radar.

Reports in Portugal claim that Bamba's agent Filipe Macedo Alves had flown to London to hold talks with Arsenal ahead of finalising an 'imminent' deal for the midfielder.

Alves has admitted that he was recently in the English capital, but he has poured cold water over such rumours linking Bamba with a January move to the Gunners, insisting that he travels regularly to keep in touch with all of his clients.

Speaking to O Jogo as quoted by the Evening Standard, Alves said: "It's true that I was in London, but I am just arriving from Germany, where I was watching Edmond Tapsoba's game. Bamba is not the only player I work with.

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"He's a player profile that is clearly of interest to many clubs, but today he is a Vitoria player and is only focused on Monday's game in Chaves. The market is open, but I'm not going to feed rumours."

Bamba was born in Italy and came through the academy ranks at Pro Vercelli before joining Vitoria in 2020.

The defensive midfielder made his professional debut in February last year and he has since featured a total of 30 times across all competitions, including 15 starts in the Primeira Liga this season.

Bamba's recent rise has also been recognised by Italy manager Roberto Mancini, who called up the youngster to a 53-man training camp in May last year.

Vitoria are under no immediate pressure to part ways with Bamba, who is under contract until June 2026, although his deal is understood to include a €30m (£26.3m) release clause.