Arsenal are continuing to send their scouts to watch Real Valladolid youngster Ivan Fresneda after showing an interest in him during the January transfer window, according to Fabrizio Romano in his exclusive Daily Briefing for CaughtOffside.
Fresneda looks an outstanding prospect and has previously been linked as a target for Arsenal by Romano in an earlier CaughtOffside exclusive, though in the end a deal couldn’t be done this winter.
Still, it seems the Gunners are still keen on the talented 18-year-old as they look for a new right-back for next season, though Romano has added that Inter Milan’s Denzel Dumfries is not one of the names on their radar.
Despite some speculation involving Dumfries, Romano seems to believe someone like Fresneda would be a more likely target for Mikel Arteta’s side in that position, with an upgrade perhaps needed on Ben White and Takehiro Tomiyasu, neither of whom really bring enough attacking quality to that role.
“Despite reports to the contrary, at the moment I’m not aware of any negotiation between Arsenal and Inter for Dumfries,” Romano said.
“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.”
Arsenal had a busy January bringing in Jorginho, Leandro Trossard, and Jakub Kiwior, and it will be interesting to see what calibre of player they can attract in the summer, when they will most likely have Champions League football to offer for the first time in seven years.