Arsenal are closing in on the signing of Mykhaylo Mudryk from Shakhtar, but it doesn’t look like their January spending will stop there.
According to a source from La Liga side Real Valladolid, right-back Ivan Fresneda wants to join Arsenal.
Ivan Fresneda is just 18 years of age, but is regarded as one of the best young full backs in Europe. The teenager is a regular in La Liga this season and as well as Arsenal, the likes of Newcastle and Real Madrid have been strongly linked.
The source goes on to say that Fresneda wants to join Arsenal over the other interested parties, but that Arsenal have asked for patience as they complete a deal for Mudryk first.
It could obviously be a coincidence, but Luis Bardají – the players agent – posted an image on his Instagram story from a hotel in London on Friday, captioning the picture “to disconnect” – further fueling the rumours.
Fresneda is a right-back with very good defensive and possession based qualities.
He averages 2.36 tackles won per games, tackles 81.8% of dribblers and makes 1.53 interceptions per game. All 90th percentile and above when compared to other full backs. Another exciting stat is his progressive passes, averaging 3.33 per game, 84th percentile compared to his peers.
Ivan Fresneda has been linked again with Arsenal today, his agent is currently in London [could be unrelated].
He's just 18 but not what you'd probably expect from a teenage full back from Spain [short thread🧵] pic.twitter.com/OPJwI4DGfN
— PB (@OliPriceBates) January 14, 2023
Fresneda would fit the mould to compete with Ben White at right-back for Arsenal. What that means for the likes of Tomiyasu and young Brooke Norton-Cuffy, currently impressing on loan at right back, remains to be seen.
Fresneda would likely cost in the region of £15million.