Arsenal dipped into the transfer market in January.

Mikel Arteta’s side brought in Mat Ryan on loan from Brighton & Hove Albion as back-up in goal, while Martin Odegaard also arrived on loan from Real Madrid.

The signings will bolster their hopes of climbing the Premier League table and getting themselves involved with the battle to qualify for Europe.

As it stands, though, the Gunners are 11th, nine points behind fourth-placed Liverpool.

And it seems as though they are already casting their eyes towards the summer transfer window when it comes to strengthening the Spaniard’s squad.

The Sun reports that the club are closing in on a deal to sign young Sporting Lisbon striker Tiago Tomas.

The club’s technical director, Edu, has been in talks with the Portuguese club over a deal and it should be sealed ahead of the summer.

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The 18-year-old has already made 30 appearances for Sporting at senior level, scoring five goals, and has been capped at various youth levels by Portugal.

He signed a new contract in 2020 with a £52m release clause but Sporting are in dire financial straits and The Sun claim they could accept a fee of around £20m.

Arsenal missed out on signing Cristiano Ronaldo when he moved from Sporting to Manchester United, and the report claims they do not intend to make such an error again.

GIVEMESPORT’S Harry Sherlock says…

This is an intriguing one.

Tomas has not got a lot of senior football under his belt but he has made an impression since breaking into the Sporting first-team.

He is already scoring goals and one thinks that this an investment for the future.

Tomas can only get better, and a deal at £20m could end up being a bargain if he develops into a genuine option under Arteta.

Beating the queue that could develop if he continues scoring is a good strategy for the Gunners.