Arsenal’s talks to sign Valencia central defender Cristhian Mosquera have been confirmed in a report by Sami Mokbel of BBC Sport.
The Spain Under-23 international is emerging as a top target in defence for the Gunners, though it seems they also explored other options.
One of those has been named as Crystal Palace’s Marc Guehi in the BBC’s report, but it seems the England international might have had reservations about joining.
Mosquera is still only 20 years of age, so makes sense as someone who could come in and provide squad depth, whereas Guehi would want to be starting games.
If the Palace defender leaves Selhurst Park it will surely be with the intention of becoming a key player for a bigger club, but he surely wouldn’t have been given much playing time due to the presence of William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes at the Emirates Stadium.
What could Mosquera transfer mean for other Arsenal defenders?
Cristhian Mosquera celebrates a goal for Valencia (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)
Mosquera’s arrival could also be interesting as it raises questions about the future of someone like Jakub Kiwior.
The Poland international filled in superbly while Gabriel was out injured for the latter stages of last season, but he’s mostly not had that many opportunities to start games.
It might be that Mosquera is joining with the view of allowing Kiwior to leave and play more often elsewhere.
This has not yet been confirmed, but it makes sense as one to watch, with Arsenal also having Riccardo Calafiori, Ben White and Jurrien Timber as other players who can fill in in central defence if needed.
What next for Marc Guehi?
Guehi was seemingly on Arsenal’s radar, but where could he end up instead?
The Telegraph recently linked Guehi as a target for Liverpool, and that could make sense for the Reds due to Ibrahima Konate being in the final year of his contract at Anfield.
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