Arsenal right-back Cedric Soares could still exit the club this month due to ‘not featuring’ for the Gunners, Sky Sports reporter Dharmesh Sheth has informed GiveMeSport.
The 31-year-old has been linked with a move away from the Emirates this month, though any departure hasn’t yet come to fruition as Mikel Arteta looks to trim his squad.
Earlier this week, The Daily Mail reported that Fulham were interested in taking right-back Cedric to Craven Cottage, though they had begun to look into alternative targets due to concerns over finding an agreement on personal terms.
Salary Sport understands the defender is earning £65,000 per week in North London, which has proved to be a stumbling block in negotiations with Fulham over a potential deal. The Cottagers have now turned their attention towards Sky Bet Championship trio Max Aarons, James Bree and Danny McNamara in their pursuit of a right-sided defender.
The Evening Standard claimed in December that Bayer Leverkusen and Villarreal were also keen on offering Cedric a route out of Arsenal; however, things seem to have gone quiet on that front for now, at least.
Portugal international Cedric is deemed as surplus to requirements at his current employers, with Ben White and Takehiro Tomiyasu in front of him in the pecking order.
Sky Sports journalist Sheth believes that although a deal to take Cedric to Fulham has collapsed, there is still time for talks to reignite ‘towards the end of the window’.
Sheth told GMS: “I’m still trying to get a bit more information on this, he’s not featuring really in Arsenal’s games of late and I know Fulham were interested in him.
“The information I was getting on that one was yes, the interest was there, but not at the terms and the wages being quoted to them.
“I just wonder if Cedric Soares continues not to feature in the squads for Arsenal towards the end of the window, Fulham may then try their luck again and just say, ‘look, let’s take him on loan or let’s try and do a deal where we pay a portion of his wages because we want to bring him in’.”
Based on his lack of minutes, Cedric is unlikely to play any major part at Arsenal moving forward and cutting ties either permanently or on a loan basis would be the best solution for both parties.
