Arsenal target William Carvalho named best player of European Under 21 Championship

Sporting Lisbon midfielder William Carvalho has been named the best player of the European Under 21 Championships just days after Standard Sport revealed Arsene Wenger is keen on his signing to bolster the Arsenal squad during the summer transfer window.

Portugal lost the final against Sweden after the 23-year-old midfielder missed his spot kick in the penalty shoot-out following a 0-0 conclusion to the game.

But Carvalho's failure has not prevented him from being recognised as the most valuable player of the tournament to follow in the footsteps of other major stars who have won the award in recent years, including Andrea Pirlo, Arsenal new signing Peter Cech or more recently Manchester United star Juan Mata and Bayern Munich's Thiago Alcantara.

The Portuguese midfielder has also been included in the best XI of the the tournament alongside the likes of Monaco promising number 10 Bernardo Silva and Norwich starlet Nathan Redmond.

"Portugal midfielder William Carvalho has been named as the best player of the Uefa European Under-21 Championship," Uefa stated in its official website.

"The UEFA Technical Observers, present at every match, chose William as the U21 Euro's outstanding performer, including him as one of five Portuguese in their best XI from the tournament. William, an authoritative central midfielder who plays his club football for Sporting CP, was ever-present for Rui Jorge's team throughout their finals campaign.

"William, who already has 13 senior caps to his name, attempted (394) and completed (349) more passes than anyone else in the Czech Republic."

Uefa highlight Carvalho's impressive performance during the 5-0 victory over German in the semi-final of the tournament after winning the battle of the middle of the park with Liverpool's Emre Can.

The award vindicated recent reports from Standard Sport claiming Wenger has the Portuguese midfielder on his shopping list ahead of Juventus' Arturo Vidal and Southampton's Morgan Scheiderlin.

Wenger was already linked with the Portuguese star during the summer 2014 but then decided against his signing due to Lisbon high demands for the player.

The French boss, however, is one again in the market for a midfielder to compete with Francis Coquelin for a starting sport and could renew his pursuit.