Arsenal make formal enquiry to sign Barcelona forward

Arsenal are understood to have made the approach to sign Malcom on a season-long loan, though Barcelona are not keen on such an agreement.

The north London side are keen on adding more quality in the wider attacking department and they have already failed with an opening £40m bid for Crystal Palace's Wilfried Zaha.

According to Sport, the Gunners have identified Malcom as a cheaper alternative option to strengthen the attack and they have proposed a season-long loan for the forward with an option to buy.

The report, however, suggests that the Blaugrana are likely to reject the advances from the Gunners, given they want to sanction the permanent sale of the former Bordeaux man.

The Blaugrana are eyeing a transfer package of around £30m for the Brazilian, who made just six league starts during the previous campaign. Malcom has previously been on the radar of Tottenham Hotspur but they seem to have moved on to other targets.