“Agreement in place”: Arsenal have made move for ‘one of the biggest prospects in European football’, £26m will seal deal
Arsenal have ‘already moved’ for Real Valladolid prodigy Ivan Fresneda, according to AS.
The Spanish outlet claims the Gunners are one of numerous top teams eyeing the 18-year-old full-back.
Fresneda is ‘one of the biggest prospects in European football’, having burst onto the scene in recent months.
The teenager made his Valladolid debut last season and has clocked up nine appearances overall for his club.
This term, Fresneda has featured six times in La Liga for the newly-promoted outfit.
And it looks as though Europe’s elite have liked what they’ve seen from the talented right-back.
AS – via Sport Witness – claim that there’s a belief Fresneda will be ‘one of the agitators’ of the January window.
Valladolid fought off interest in his signature last summer. The player signed to a new deal that included a €10m release clause.
That deal also included other clauses which saw his release clause rise to €30m after six games in the first team.
When Fresneda hits 22 games, his clause will then go up to €45m, added the report.
Understandably, Arsenal and all the other suitors want to avoid this from happening
Therefore, they’re said to have ‘already moved’ to try and secure his signature before his value rises even further.
Arsenal are apparently among a host of other Premier League sides to have made the first efforts to make a deal happen.
The chasing pack had reportedly wanted to wait until the summer. However, it may be too late by that point, and they now want to move in January instead.
Therefore, they are ‘already talking’ with Valladolid about a deal for ‘around half’ of his current €30m release clause.
However, it remains to be seen whether the Spaniards would accept such a figure.
As they can increase his clause and value just by playing him, they hold all the cards at present.
As well as Arsenal, the likes of Liverpool, Newcastle, Leeds, Juventus, AC Milan, Inter Milan, Roma, Real Madrid and Barcelona are also reportedly eyeing Fresneda.
Can Arsenal land ‘complete full-back’ ahead of competition?
Football Talent Scout recently published a scouting report about Fresneda.
Jacek Kulig described him as a ‘complete full-back’ with ‘very good pace at all distances’ and who’s ‘able to deliver pinpoint crosses even at top speed’.
In addition, Fresneda ‘impacts the game at both ends of the pitch’, is an ‘accurate and tenacious tackler’, and has ‘inexhaustible energy and stamina’.
He boasts an impressive potential rating of 9/10, suggesting he could ‘become a key player in a top European club’.
