Sources: Agreement in place as Arsenal & Man United make late contact over forward transfer

Arsenal and Manchester United are understood to have made late checks on Pio Esposito, who has verbally agreed a new contract with Inter Milan.

The talented young Italian forward has been on the radar of both Arsenal and Man Utd for some time, but it now looks highly likely that he’ll be staying at Inter.

We’ve previously reported on Esposito being the subject of Arsenal and United interest, though the message at that time was also that he was likely to stay at the San Siro.

Despite some media reports today suggesting the Gunners and the Red Devils are back in for Esposito, we can clarify that we’ve been told this is not the case.

Some sources have indicated that these clubs made contact again late on to understand Esposito’s situation, but were clearly informed that he is set to agree a new deal with Inter.

The 21-year-old is now formalising his new contract, which will run until 2031 and see him earn a significant pay increase from the deal he signed back in April 2025.

Pio Esposito one of a number of Arsenal transfer targets

There is big appreciation at Arsenal for Esposito’s talent and potential, and it’s perhaps not too surprising that they tried for him again, even if it never looked particularly likely for them.

The north London giants are working hard at the moment to strengthen in attack after notably missing out on two top targets this summer in the form of Vinicius Junior and Morgan Rogers.

Esposito is likely to remain on the club’s radar for the long term, and a deal may be revisited in years to come, depending on his situation at Inter later on.

For now, there is anticipated movement soon from Arsenal on an alternative to Vini Jr, with the usual names coming up again.

Want more CaughtOffside coverage? Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list for news you can trust

Our understanding, however, is that nothing is concrete or advanced at this stage, for a variety of reasons.

Arsenal up against it in bid to sign Julian Alvarez and Bradley Barcola

Arsenal have a long-standing interest in both Julian Alvarez and Bradley Barcola, but they know they’re facing an uphill struggle with those players as things stand.

Alvarez could leave Atletico Madrid this summer, but they don’t intend to part with him easily, and the Argentina international’s preference is to stay in Spain.

Things have not yet developed, however, as Atletico insist they won’t sell to La Liga rivals Barcelona, putting everything at a bit of a standstill. With the threat of legal action against them, Barca are understood to have cooled their interest and moved onto other targets.

This doesn’t make things easy for Arsenal, though, as Mikel Arteta will likely have some reservations about trying to convince a player who isn’t entirely sold on the project.

With Barcola, a new move cannot be ruled out, but everyone I’ve spoken to in the industry maintains that Liverpool are the favourites.

Things can change quickly, of course, as that was also felt to be the case before Chelsea hijacked Arsenal’s move for Rogers earlier in the window.

We’ve also been informed of Arsenal looking into Ferran Torres’ situation, though that’s also a complicated deal to get done as he’s closer to PSG, while Barcelona also hope to persuade him to stay.