Ernesto Valverde Admits He Doesn't 'Know Much About' Reported Barcelona Target Arthur

Ernesto Valverde has spoken out about rumours that Barcelona could be set to prise Arthur Henrique away from Gremio in January.

La Blaugrana's manager was quoted by AS as he revealed that he had no comment to make on the links, as he is unaware of any potential interest and doesn't know much about the Brazilian starlet.

Arthur has been touted as a future Barcelona player after impressing for Gremio in his homeland, but Valverde refused to be drawn on the speculation that has tipped the Catalan giants to move for the 21-year-old.

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He said: "I know there has been a lot of speculation, but I have heard it from afar. The truth is that I do not know much about the player, so I can not comment too much."

Arthur was pictured wearing a Barcelona home shirt with Andre Cury - the man who was responsible for helping the current La Liga leaders snap Neymar up from Santos back in the summer of 2011.

Cury is thought to be close to Arthur and his ties with Barcelona have led to plenty of gossip columns alleging that a switch from South America to Europe for Arthur must be on the cards.

Rumours coming out of Brazil had suggested that a €35m had been made for Arthur recently, while speculation has suggested that he could be available for €50m to a release clause fee in his contract.

Arthur only made his senior debut for Gremio on 11th December 2016 as he came off the bench in the Brazilian Serie A clash against Botafogo. The centre midfielder has since gone on to amass 40 appearances in the past year for his club, and netted his maiden senior goal in the 3-1 away win over EC Vitoria in July.

His form for Gremio has made him a surefire pick for manager Renato Portaluppi in recent times, although Arthur has not been part of the 18-man match day squad for each of the last three league games.

Arthur has been called up to the senior Brazilian national side in the last two international breaks, but has not made his senior bow for his country at that level yet.