Arsenal have informed Vinicius Junior that they are willing to beat Real Madrid’s contract offer, according to reports in Brazil.
Vinicius Jr has emerged as Mikel Arteta’s top target to strengthen Arsenal’s attack and the Premier League champions are aiming to capitalise on the winger’s protracted negotiations with Real Madrid over a new deal.
After initially refusing to improve their contract offer last week, Madrid have now increased their proposal from €20 million (£17.1m) per season to €24m (£20.5m).
According to AS, Madrid are demanding a quick response from Vinicius Jr after a fresh round of negotiations on Wednesday.
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Madrid have still not met the Brazilian’s demands after he lowered his initial request from €30m (£25.7m) per season and asked for a renewal bonus, plus an improvement on his image rights percentage which currently stands at just over 50%.
As a rule, Madrid retain at least 50% of the image rights for their players, with the only exception being Kylian Mbappe, who has an 80% share.
Brazilian outlet UOL reports that Arsenal have indicated to Vinicius Jr’s camp that they are willing to match Madrid’s salary offer of €24m (£20.5m) per season but, crucially, the Premier League champions would allow the 26-year-old to keep 100% of his image rights.
However, the report adds that Wednesday’s meeting between Vinicius Jr’s representatives and Madrid has been described as ‘productive’ and that the Brazilian appears to be nearing an agreement with the Spanish club.
Madrid have already told Vinicius Jr that they would be open to selling him to Arsenal this summer if he rejects their offer of a new deal.
Vinicius Jr’s current contract expires next summer, which would then allow him to leave Madrid as a free agent.
Madrid, meanwhile, are now on the verge of completing their €140m (£120m) deal to sign Yan Diomande from RB Leipzig.
The 19-year-old winger left RB Leipzig’s pre-season training camp in Austria on Thursday in order to travel to Madrid to finalise his move.
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