Arsenal set for end-of-season transfer talks over attacker as £17.3m fee overlooked

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Arsenal attacking midfielder Fabio Vieira is currently on loan in Germany with Hamburger SV

Bundesliga outfit Hamburger SV would like to keep Arsenal playmaker Fabio Vieira beyond the end of the season - but they do not appear likely to trigger their £17.3million (€20m) option to buy.

The German club scrambled to wrap up an initial loan deal for Vieira on transfer deadline day last summer and the Portugal international has been a hit at Volksparkstadion.

Vieira has mustered five goals and six assists in all competitions, though he has also been sent off on two separate occasions.

Nonetheless, Hamburg are keen to buy Vieira in the summer and he would also be open to completing a permanent transfer because he's receiving regular minutes.

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HSV are expected to approach Arsenal to try and and negotiate a cheaper package but there's a chance other sides could also enter the fray.

For instance, Stuttgart were keen on signing Vieira last summer but they were not willing to meet Arsenal's demands, which the club dropped late in the window.

Crucially, Vieira, a £34million signing from FC Porto, is due to enter the final year of his contract at the Emirates Stadium this summer.

He is not part of Mikel Arteta's plans, though, and can leave on a permanent transfer in the coming months.

Speaking a few weeks ago, the forward made it clear he was rediscovering his potential in Germany but he was still keen to outline his respect for the Gunners.

Vieira told German media: “It was a great goal. I knew it was a big step for me to come here and rediscover my true potential. Everyone knows I still have a contract with Arsenal. So let’s wait until the end of the season. Then we’ll talk about it and see what we can do.”

Arsenal are also set to offload defender Jakub Kiwior in the summer as his loan switch to Porto will become permanent. There's hope Hamburg will do the same and take Vieira off Arsenal's books.

Outside of those two players, the Gunners are expected to oversee further sales with Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly among a small crop of players that could well depart the Emirates.

Nwaneri has spent the second half of the season out on loan at Marseille while Lewis-Skelly has been short of minutes.

The left-back was recently named in Lee Carsley's England U21 squad for the current international break.