Arsenal transfer development emerges - but there is no option to buy

Cedric Soares is heading from Arsenal to Fulham on loan, according to ESPN. The deal looks set to be completed before the end of the week.

Cedric joined the Gunners on loan from Southampton three years ago and it was met with plenty of criticism when the club made his move permanent in the following summer. Unsurprisingly, the 31-year-old has failed to make his mark on the team and hasn’t started a single Premier League game in a very successful campaign so far.

Ben White has become Arsenal’s first choice right-back this season after filling in for Takehiro Tomiyasu, with the Japan international now also ahead of Cedric in the pecking order. The Portuguese star is now hopeful of picking up some game time and is nearing a reunion with his former manager Marco Silva.

The pair know each other well from their time at Sporting Lisbon, where the 45-year-old was appointed in the 2014-15 season. Silva is likely to offer Cedric more minutes at Craven Cottage, though he will still be competing with Kenny Tete for a place in the starting line-up. While the report claims that Fulham won’t have the option or obligation to buy Cedric in the summer, it is believed that they will pay his full £100,000-a-week salary during his six months in West London.

Meanwhile, Arsenal could still look to bring in another right-back as a replacement, with a number of reports claiming they are interested in signing Real Valladolid’s Ivan Fresneda. The teenager has made 10 appearances in La Liga this season and could be set to sign for either the Gunners or Borussia Dortmund.