Arsenal and Man Utd Target Shakhtar's Elias
Arsenal’s summer has barely paused for breath. A statement win over Manchester City in the Community Shield, a title defence about to begin, and a midfield rebuilt around Bruno Guimaraes. Now they are pushing into the market for one of Europe’s sharpest young forwards.
According to TEAMtalk, the Premier League champions have joined Manchester United and a clutch of European heavyweights in the race for Shakhtar Donetsk attacker Kaua Elias Nogueira, known simply as Elias.
From Fluminense to the shop window
Shakhtar moved early. They took Elias from Fluminense in February 2025 for around £14.5m, a classic Donetsk play: spot Brazilian talent before everyone else, polish it, then wait for the big bids.
The 20-year-old has responded exactly as they hoped. Fifteen goals in 49 games for the Ukrainian champions, flashes of ruthless finishing and the kind of versatility in the final third that top clubs hoard.
His most recent audition felt like a sales brochure. On August 3, in a 5-1 demolition of Kudrivka in the Ukrainian top flight at Arena Lviv, Elias produced a perfect hat-trick – right foot, left foot, header. Shakhtar battered their opponents; the Brazilian stole the show.
The stands told their own story. Around 10 clubs are understood to have sent scouts to watch him that day, with Arsenal and Manchester United among those represented. Interest is no longer a whisper. It is a queue.
Shakhtar value him at about £30m. Inside the club, there is an expectation he will leave either in this window or after the 2026-27 season. AC Milan and Porto are also monitoring the situation, adding Italian and Portuguese intrigue to an already crowded field.
Arsenal’s forward puzzle
Arsenal return to Premier League duty on Friday night, opening their title defence at home to newly-promoted Coventry City. Mikel Arteta’s side will walk out at the Emirates as heavy favourites, and as champions who have already strengthened.
Bruno Guimaraes has arrived from Newcastle United to give the champions extra control and bite in midfield. The next item on the agenda is clear: a top-level forward, someone who can grow with this squad and keep the attack fresh for the next cycle.
Vinicius Junior was never going to be that player after signing a new deal at Real Madrid. So the radar has moved. Elias is now on it.
Yet for all the excitement around his numbers and potential, breaking into Arsenal’s starting XI would be a brutal task this season. Viktor Gyokeres and Kai Havertz offer Arteta senior, high-level options through the middle. Wide areas are already stacked with established stars and emerging talents.
Elias would be walking into a dressing room where minutes are earned, not gifted.
United’s dilemma – and Elias’s choice
Manchester United, under Michael Carrick, face a similar conundrum. They, too, are in the market for long-term attacking quality, but they already have Benjamin Sesko as their focal point, a Slovenia international expected to shoulder much of the scoring burden.
So the question is not just who signs Elias. It is who can actually use him.
For the Brazilian, the next move will define his trajectory. Join a superclub now, fight for scraps of game time, and risk stalling? Or choose a project that guarantees regular football, even if the badge is a touch less glamorous?
Shakhtar know what they have and will not rush. The suitors know what they want and will not back away. Somewhere in the middle, a 20-year-old with a perfect hat-trick on his CV has to decide which path turns promise into a career.
