Arsenal lay groundwork for summer swoop of Newcastle and Dortmund target, as Fabrizio Romano confirms second deal is red herring
Arsenal are ‘regularly’ scouting a Newcastle-linked star who the Gunners initially tried to sign in January, while Fabrizio Romano has confirmed a higher profile deal is unlikely to materialise.
The future of Real Valladolid right-back, Ivan Fresneda, was a major talking point last month. The 18-year-old is one of the hottest prospects Spanish football has produced in recent times and despite his tender age, already has eight LaLiga starts to his name this term.
Fresneda’s rapid rise has understandably caught the attention of multiple clubs in England, as well as Borussia Dortmund.
Indeed, Newcastle took note of the Valladolid star in January when hunting for a long-term successor to Kieran Trippier. In the end, the Magpies opted to sign Harrison Ashby from West Ham for around £3m instead.
Per the Athletic, both Arsenal and Borussia Dortmund actually agreed terms over a £13.1m move for Fresnda in the winter window.
The Spaniard would’ve returned to Valladolid on a six-month loan had either move crossed the line.
Fresneda ultimately remained in Spain, though interest in bringing him to the Emirates has clearly not subsided.
That’s according to transfer guru Fabrizio Romano who revealed Arsenal are “regularly” scouting Fresneda.
Mikel Arteta’s current options in the position are Ben White and Takehiro Tomiyasu. However, both are natural centre-halves and neither offer much going forward when deployed at right-back.
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Arsenal eyeing Fresneda; Dumfries speculation untrue
Romano stressed the Gunners are “exploring right-back options” and Fresneda is on the list. However, he dismissed the speculation Arsenal are in the mix to sign Inter Milan’s Denzel Dumfries.
The Dutch international would represent a readymade addition on the right side and has been indexed to Arsenal via reports in Spain. But per Romano, talk of negotiations being underway are very much premature.
“Despite reports to the contrary, at the moment I’m not aware of any negotiation between Arsenal and Inter for Dumfries,” Romano wrote for Caught Offside.
“They are exploring right back options and Ivan Fresneda remains appreciated, they are sending scouts regularly to follow him.
“But Dumfries has completely different value for Inter and at the moment his situation is still quiet.”
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