Vinicius Junior has triggered major transfer talk after suddenly deleting his entire Instagram history, even though he has been offered a huge new contract to stay in Spain. Arsenal are keeping a close watch on developments as they aim to strengthen their squad, while Jose Mourinho is keen to retain his star forward before the new campaign begins.

Real Madrid have put forward a lucrative contract.

According to the Daily Mail, Real Madrid are becoming increasingly confident of keeping Vinicius after presenting him with an attractive new deal. The club have offered a significant pay rise that would take Vinicius' earnings to £18.5 million a year. Discussions over an extension to his current contract, which runs until next June, first started in January 2025.

Mourinho, back in the Spanish capital for a second spell, sees Vinicius as a crucial part of his rebuilding project. After a difficult previous season in which Real Madrid finished a second straight campaign without a major trophy, the club are determined not to allow one of their most valuable players to leave on a free transfer.

A social media wipeout has intensified the rumours.

In spite of the growing confidence at the Bernabeu, Vinicius increased the uncertainty on Wednesday night by deleting his entire Instagram history. The account, which has nearly 64 million followers, now shows no images, no bio and no profile picture. Every photo linked to his Real Madrid training sessions and matches has been removed.

This kind of dramatic social media blackout is not unusual among modern footballers and is often seen as a sign of unhappiness with their current club. The move has only added to speculation that a transfer to the Premier League champions could still happen, even though Vinicius returned to pre-season camp on Monday for routine medical tests and training under Mourinho.

Arsenal are waiting to take advantage.

Arsenal are standing by and hoping to benefit from any collapse in negotiations. The club have already underlined their intent by completing the £34m signing of Christos Tzolis, and manager Mikel Arteta has made it clear that they remain ambitious.

After a pre-season friendly against Girona, Arteta outlined his thinking for the transfer window. "We expect to have movements in the next few weeks, obviously," Arteta said. "We want to get better like anybody else, and you can see the transfer market and our opponents... We won't sit still and we are very ambitious with what we are doing. The margins are very small. Because we want to get better and the level is going to increase. We need to increase the competition internally. We need to make sure we identify the things that we don't have in the team."

What happens next for Vinicius?

Vinicius must now decide whether to dedicate the best years of his career to Real Madrid or seek a new challenge with Arsenal. Real Madrid will push for a quick outcome so that this situation does not disrupt their preparations for the season. If the two sides fail to reach an agreement, Arsenal will be well placed to test Madrid's determination before the transfer window closes.