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Flamengo midfielder Gerson is reportedly a transfer target for Premier League side's Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur.
Gerson began his career in his native Brazil with Fluminense before a move to Serie A side Roma followed in 2016, but the 22-year-old failed to make his mark in Italy.
The midfielder moved back to Brazil last summer by signing for Flamengo and he was involved in the club's run to the Club World Cup final against Liverpool.
Gerson caught the eye on that run and, speaking to Yahoo Sports, the player’s father – Marcos Santos – opened up on how there is now Premier League interest in his son.
"Nobody knew about Arsenal, but now that I'm telling you, everyone will know," Santos said when asked about the Gunners' interest.
Indeed, the report claims that Santos namechecked Arsenal’s head of football, Raul Sanllehi, when discussing Arsenal’s involvement.
Pressed on whether the likes of Tottenham and Borussia Dortmund are interested, he said: "Everyone you hear there is true. But they only probed."
Santos then explained how his son’s career has developed, including how Gerson almost made the move from Fluminense to Barcelona before opting to go to Roma.
"We had everything settled, signed, but Barcelona only wanted to pay 8 million euros to Fluminense, who really needed money," Santos said.
"So, we chose to close with Roma, which offered 16 million euros.
"We had a negotiation last year (2019) with Nice, but Gerson had just arrived at Flamengo," Santos continued of his son's career.
"The idea is to build a history in the club. We were always Flamenguistas. Gerson is extremely happy."
- TEAMtalk media
