Arsenal will have to wait until the summer transfer window to sign Real Valladolid’s Ivan Fresneda as he will reject the chance to move this month, TEAMtalk understands.
Fresneda has become a target for some of Europe’s biggest clubs recently due to his exciting performances in Spain. At the age of 18, he is already a regular in the Valladolid first team and has made 12 appearances this season.
The right-back has become a target for Premier League teams Arsenal and Newcastle, as well as major European sides Borussia Dortmund and Juventus.
Arsenal and Dortmund have even entered advanced talks with Valladolid for Fresneda. But sources have told TEAMtalk that he will be remaining with the La Liga side this month.
Fresneda is happy to stay at Valladolid until the end of the season. He is focused on helping them avoid relegation from the Spanish top flight – they currently sit in 17th place, just one point above the relegation zone.
Despite the Spain U19 international rejecting Mikel Arteta’s advances for now, there is still a chance he will move to Arsenal in the summer. This is when he will make a final decision on his future, and Arsenal will be among his potential suitors.
However, they will once again face competition to snap him up. Newcastle, Dortmund and Juve will all return for Fresneda come the end of the season.
Valladolid would love to keep him as he is an academy graduate with massive potential. But they know he has the ability to play for a bigger club and due to this they will surely have to sell at some point in the future.
Ivan Fresneda update comes amid Caicedo hunt
Arteta has been looking at signing Fresneda alongside Moises Caicedo in recent weeks. The Brighton midfielder’s future is still up in the air, despite Roberto De Zerbi’s side being desperate to keep him.
Arsenal have made two bids to sign Caicedo. The first came in at £60m, and once this was rejected they returned with a £70m offer. Brighton remain firm however and have once again pushed it back.
According to Fabrizio Romano, Arsenal will have to break their transfer record to snare the Ecuadorian this month. That is currently the £72m they spent on winger Nicolas Pepe in August 2019.
Amidst all the rumours, Caicedo has publicly stated his desire to leave Brighton for Arsenal or Chelsea. However, club chiefs at the Amex view him as an integral player for the rest of the season and do not want to set the dangerous precedent of him forcing his way out of Brighton.
If Arsenal miss out on Caicedo, then they could go after a Premier League alternative instead.
