Arsenal Transfer Rumor: Cedric Soares nearing Fulham loan

Cedric Soares is close to agreeing a loan move down the road from Arsenal to Fulham, per multiple reports. Portuguese manager Marco Silva wants to make his countryman the club’s first signing of the January transfer window, as he looks to reinforce his squad to try to sneak into the Europa Conference League or better. Fulham are currently 7th in the table but have played 21 matches, one or two more than the clubs around them.

Fulham will reportedly cover all of Cedric’s wages, which depending on where you look, are somewhere between £75K-£100K per week. The transfer window closes on Tuesday, January 31st at 11 pm BT (6 pm ET), so the two clubs have a few more days to put the finishing touches on the loan, and it seems as if the move is going to happen.

The Cedric-to-Fulham links started early in the window, but the move hasn’t yet happened in part because the Cottagers are at their limit (2) for loaned-in players from the Premier League. Reports are that they will make Shane Duffy’s loan from Brighton & Hove Albion a permanent one to free up the spot for the Portuguese defender.

Some of the reports mention Arsenal’s interest in Ivan Fresneda in the same breath as the Cedric loan, but I don’t think the two have much to do with each other beyond concerning players that play the same position. By most accounts, Fresneda would be immediately loaned back to Real Valladolid, so whether Cedric is with Arsenal for the second half of the season is a moot point. Beyond that, I think it’s clear that Cedric is not an impediment to first team minutes for the 18-year old. The experienced right back is among the likely candidates to be sold in the summer. We may have already seen Cedric Soares in an Arsenal shirt for the final time.