Forgotten Arsenal man subject of 'interest' from former club Marseille as 'several' Serie A clubs keep tabs

Arsenal left back Nuno Tavares is emerging as a top transfer target for former club Marseille, according to reports from transfer guru Fabrizio Romano.

The 24-year-old enjoyed an impressive loan spell at the Stade Velodrome last season and helped Marseille record an impressive third place finish. Tavares made 31 appearances in Ligue 1 and proved to be a key attacking outlet with six goals from defence.

Tavares’ form in the south of France earned him plenty of admirers and the summer transfer window was dominated by a tug of war between Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest to sign the player on loan.

The Portuguese defender eventually opted for a move to the City Ground. However, he has struggled to emulate the form that he showed in Ligue 1 and has been limited to just four league appearances this term with three of those coming from the subs bench.

Romano understand that former club Marseille are keen to bring the player back into their squad this month as they bid to boost their chances of qualifying for European football. Gennaro Gattuso’s side are currently seventh in the table and five points adrift of fourth place AS Monaco.

Similarly it is understood that a number of Italian team are keeping tabs on the player - although Romano has chosen not to specifically identify the teams. A permanent move for the defender could prove useful to Arsenal - who like many Premier League team’s have had to operate on a restricted budget this month due to the threat of FFP sanctions.

However, one issue is that Forest would need to agree to terminate Tavares’ loan, and that doesn’t seem to be happening at the moment. In fact, Tavares played his first full 90 minutes for Forest in their most recent 3-2 defeat to Brentford.

This means that Marseille and other suitors may have to turn their attention elsewhere for the time being, and possibly return to the table during the summer transfer window. Tavares is ineligible for Nottingham Forest’s upcoming game against parent club Arsenal - but he may well be able to turn his fortunes around at the City Ground in the coming weeks under new boss and fellow countrymen Nuno Espírito Santo.