If he wants him, then Edu best not hang around. If Arsenal are to sign Bitello, then the club's football chief should act now and ask questions later...
Word from Brazil is that Edu has the Gunners on the brink of an agreement with Gremio for their free-scoring midfielder. Indeed, he's managed to convince Gremio president Albert Guerra to drop his initial €12m valuation to closer to €9m. With Bitello eager to have his future settled, Guerra has spied a double opportunity for his club.
The way negotiations have accelerated this past fortnight have taken aback rival suitors. AS Monaco, Porto and Zenit St Petersburg have all been in contact with Guerra. They all have the budget to meet his asking price - whether that be original or revised. And Bitello, himself, hasn't moved to shutdown any of the offers proposed. But Arsenal have caught them on the hop. And it's a deal, should it go through, that is perfect for Guerra and Gremio.
Bitello, after two full seasons of senior football, has been demanding a major hike on his wages. Impressive as he helped Gremio win promotion back to Serie A a year ago, Bitello didn't skip a beat in his first campaign of top-flight football. Luis Suarez, of Barcelona and Liverpool fame, was the main attraction last season, but he had a more than capable understudy in Bitello. Seven goals and four assists from midfield an outstanding achievement for a first full season in Brazil's top-flight. Those stats coming on the back of nine goals and three assists in the previous promotion-winning campaign.
With such numbers, Bitello was knocking on Guerra's door a month ago demanding a pay-rise. A demand that Guerra was forced to turn down. Not due to budget or cashflow, but on orders of the club's football chiefs. At 23 and after just the two seasons of senior football, the club's football staff warned Guerra against handing Bitello a wage increase. The concern being it would blunt his ambition.
Frustrated by management's response, Bitello sought a new avenue and began to explore splitting with his original agent, Marcelo Klavan. Contact was made with Junior Mendonca, on recommendation of senior teammate Douglas Costa, the former Bayern Munich and Juventus attacker. Local super agent Giuliano Bertolucci has also been kept up to speed on events. However for the moment, Klavan's service contract with Bitello remains in place.
Which is a good thing for Edu. As we say, if Arsenal are to sign Bitello, better to do it now and avoid your typical messy South American agents' row, than delay things.
Such a swift move would also be welcomed by Guerra: Bitello would get that pay-rise via Arsenal and with doubts over his work permit status, there's every chance of the midfielder spending another year with Gremio on-loan. For Guerra, it would be a perfect outcome if ever there was one.
As the fee suggests, Bitello would be signed as a 'project' player. Indeed, as much as he would be a gamble from Arsenal's perspective, at Gremio, coach Renato Gaucho and his staff are yet to settle on a definitive position for the midfielder.
In Serie B, Renato - and before him Roger Machado - played Bitello primarily as a holding midfielder in front of the back four. However, the player was also utilised at wing-back and in an advanced No10 position on occasions. Then last season, in tandem with Suarez, Bitello was played further forward. Though Renato would eventually slip him back into a defensive role when injuries hit his squad later in the campaign. The talent. The physical and technical qualities. They're all there. But in terms of Bitello and a long-term position, nothing is yet decided.
“I am a second midfielder," says Bitello. "But I see people saying that I'm a half. This is due to my technical quality and the runs I make to the attack. I also participate in building plays deeper in midfield, I try to help with marking and also finish from outside the area."
Indeed, Bitello admits Renato has pushed him to chance his arm more in front of goal.
"I try about three shots a game. There are few midfielders who shoot from outside. In transition, I prefer to pass than shoot, even when I am free. But then I got it into my head that I could finish more and I've ended up scoring goals."
As we say, he's a 'project'. Everything is up in the air. His long-term position. His next club. It's all to be settled. But the talent has never been in question.
"People call Bitello a defensive pivot," says Gremio's former coach, Roger. "But he's more than that. Maybe if we gave him the No10 shirt people would actually recognise how much more he can do.
"Bitello can play right wing, left wing, centre-forward... but he is a midfielder."
So if it does happen. If Edu can clinch an agreement. Arsenal, at first flush, will be buying talent. Pure talent. No set position. No established role. But a player who has handled the step from Serie B to A as well as any in recent years.
In a market where he's spent £105m to bring in Declan Rice, committing £5-6m on raw Brazilian potential does make sense. But if he's serious, Edu will want to act fast. Such a knockdown deal can quickly become complicated when spurned agents are involved.
