"Very advanced": Arsenal now aiming to sign 21-year-old star for under £16.2m - report
Arsenal are making progress towards signing a new centre-back this summer.
The Gunners were recently interested in landing Dean Huijsen, but the Spaniard chose to join Real Madrid from Bournemouth instead.
The London giants have since been linked with plenty of centre-backs, but Cristhian Mosquera has now emerged as the prime target.
HandofArsenal, who broke the exclusive story, reports that the Gunners are aiming to finalise a deal of less than £16.2 million for the highly rated defender.
Personal terms are not expected to be an issue. There is still some work to be done, but talks are ‘very advanced’ with Valencia.
Mosquera would be a good acquisition
The 21-year-old has made 90 appearances for Los Che. He has maintained a tremendous fitness record, missing just three La Liga games over the last two seasons.
Mosquera won an impressive 70 percent of his ground duels in the recent league campaign. This was the highest percentage for any player in La Liga (100+ contested).
The Spaniard also managed 5.1 recoveries and 3.3 clearances per game with 1.5 tackles. He was guilty of conceding three penalties but should improve his decision-making with age and experience.
Arsenal could consider him as a backup for both Gabriel Magalhaes and William Saliba. He is predominantly a left-sided centre-back but has played on the right side too.
Mosquera demonstrated his versatility towards the end of last season, operating at right-back. Sporting director Andrea Berta has played a pivotal part in the transfer.
The Italian has already made some surprise acquisitions in goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga and midfielder Christian Norgaard to add more quality and depth to the squad.
Mosquera likewise should add more defensive assurance behind Saliba and Gabriel. The focus should now shift to bolstering the attack with a marquee striker and winger.
Stats from Transfermarkt.com & Sofascore.com
The post "Very advanced": Arsenal now aiming to sign 21-year-old star for under £16.2m - report first appeared on ArsenalNews.co.uk.