Premier League giants Arsenal continue to retool the senior squad under Mikel Arteta at the Emirates this summer as a season of expectation in 2023-24 looms over the horizon in north London. But as the Gunners have expertly acquired needle-moving talent to add to the fold at London Colney, one player that missed the opportunity to join the budding project is Ivan Fresneda.
According to Charles Watts, the highly-touted Real Valladolid right-back came close to joining the Gunners back in the January transfer window, but a consensus between the player and his representatives felt it prudent to remain in La Liga for the rest of the season. But the door to the Emirates is now shut.
🚨 @charles_watts on Arsenal links to Fresneda: “He was very close to signing in January & they opted not to. He & his representatives decided it was probably best to see out the season in Spain. It was put to one side. At one stage I thought it was probably going to happen &… pic.twitter.com/rG3zOR06lM
— afcstuff (@afcstuff) July 20, 2023
“He was very close to signing in January & they opted not to. He & his representatives decided it was probably best to see out the season in Spain. It was put to one side. At one stage I thought it was probably going to happen & this summer, they’ve just moved on to other targets.”
As part of Arsenal’s exciting summer transfer movement, Arteta and club technical director Edu Gaspar added Dutch starlet defender Jurriën Timber alongside deals for Declan Rice and Kai Havertz. Given Timber’s technical and tactical profile, many pundits and analysts peg the Dutch international to seriously compete for minutes on the right side of the Gunners’ back four despite predominately being deployed as a center-back while at Ajax.
Fresneda’s immediate future could still lie away from Estadio José Zorrilla, especially after the club failed to avoid the drop to La Liga Hypermotion (Spain’s second division) after finishing 18th in the table in 2022-23. With links persisting surrounding interest from Bundesliga giants Borussia Dortmund, Fresneda may still have an escape route this summer nevertheless.
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