Hamburg board member Eric Heuer has made it clear that he wants to keep Arsenal's Fabio Vieira.
The attacking midfielder joins the Gunners from FC Porto in June 2022 for €35m. He was not able to cement a place under Mikel Arteta in his first two seasons at the Emirates.
To put this in context, he played 1,886 minutes in 49 matches during that period, scoring three goals and providing 10 assists.
In August 2024, the player returned to Porto on a season-long loan. Last summer, Arsenal again sent him on loan, this time to the Bundesliga side with a €20m option to buy.
Two months ago, Sports Witness broadcast news That Hamburg will hold talks with Arteta's side for the 25-year-old in April or May.
The decision depends on the Arsenal player
Hamburger AbendblattThe German club's local newspaper has conducted a detailed interview with Eric Heuer. In Hamburg, he is in charge Their 'Finance, Organization, Human Resources and Legal Affairs'.
The board member has praised sporting director Klaus Costa for securing loan deals for Fabio Vieira and Tottenham Hotspur's Luka Vuckovic. The 19-year-old central defender has been a standout player for the club and has attracted the interest of several clubs.
"Last summer, we were looking for players in different positions. In defense and midfield, we brought Vuckovic and Vieira, two players we could only sign on loan," He said.
"We also had candidates in both positions who we could have signed permanently despite a substantial transfer fee. However, I think we did not make any completely wrong decisions with Vuckovic and Vieira.
"In the end, Clough and his team did not exceed their budget, even in the winter transfer window, and yet they created a team that is more than competitive given the available market conditions."
The newspaper immediately asked if the Arsenal-owned player could extend his stay.
Responding to that, Heover explained: "The situation is relatively comfortable. Fabio feels very comfortable in Hamburg, and I don't feel that Arsenal are basing their long-term plans on him."
"Fabio knows exactly what he has in Hamburg and HSV. Now the basic question is what the player wants. And if he wants to stay, we will sit down with the Arsenal management and discuss possible solutions, as we did with Sambi."
"Then we will see if a transfer is possible. We are ready to experience special moments with Fabio in the long term. Whether it works and at what cost, we will see in the summer."
Our take: Why won't Hamburg activate the clause
Fabio Vieira's Bundesliga statistics this season are as follows:
- Appearances: 22
- Start: 18
- Total minutes: 1,599
- Target: 5
- Assist: 5
The German club has the option to buy by activating the €20m clause, but is unlikely to take it up.
The Portuguese will have one year remaining on his Arsenal contract after this season. According to its value transfer marketIs €18m.
Eric Huver says he is not part of the Gunners' long-term plans. Considering this and his contract situation, Hamburg will surely ask for a hefty discount to purchase him. This is only if the player wants to extend his stay.
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➡️ There should be clarity in the next few weekshttps://t.co/RD0vkSCCrQ #afc- Sports Witness (@Sport_Witness) 2 April 2026
