Cedric Soares’ Arsenal career never took on, with the Portuguese international on no account being a consistent part of Mikel Arteta’s starting eleven – although he has been an invaluable cover on the full-back spot for some time now.
With Ben White taking over the reins of the right-back spot this season, and Takehiro Tomiyasu fighting the scrapes out on both the full-back positions, Cedric has gone down the pecking order with minutes in the Europa League being the best opportunity for some minutes under his belt.
And with minutes hard to come by, there were rumours over a potential departure in the upcoming January transfer window. Fulham were fast to jump on the opportunity to get another highly technical player from Arsenal following their signing of Bernd Leno in the summer. The Cottagers have reportedly held talks with the Portuguese’s representatives over a potential switch to West London, and any potential deal is regarded highly likely at the moment of writing.
Although no official approach have been made to Arsenal as of now, the £75,000 weekly wages are proving a hurdle for Fulham to settle on.
Cedirc has only seen a couple of appearances in the league this season, accumulating a total of 28 minutes. And with Marco Silva wanting to play possession-based football much like Mikel at Arsenal, Cedric could become a clinical asset for Fulham for the second half of the season and beyond if he were to make the move over the winter.
Should the move to Fulham not materialize, Bayer Leverkusen and Spanish giants Villarreal are also keeping tabs on Cedric.
While for Arsenal, Mikel Arteta will look to replace yet another aging player in the squad with a highly rated and talented youngster – and there already are reports surrounding a potential move for Real Valladolid’s eighteen-year-old right-back Ivan Fresneda.
