Arsenal are looking to close a deal for Valencia centre-back Cristhian Mosquera after intensifying their interest in the Spain U21 international defender
Arsenal sporting director Andrea Berta is pressing to conclude the signing of 20-year-old Valencia centre-back Cristhian Mosquera. RB Leipzig had been leading the charge for the Spain youth international, who has recently been away at the U21 European Championships in Slovakia, before the Bundesliga outfit pulled out of the running over financials.
Arsenal’s pursuit of Mosquera is not reactive to those developments, however, and Spanish sources insist Berta first established contact to register the Gunners’ interest in early May.
Mosquera, who can also play as a right-back, is viewed as the perfect understudy to William Saliba and has also attracted admirers at Aston Villa, Bournemouth, Bayer Leverkusen and Atletico Madrid.
However, Arsenal are now advancing in discussions and are understood to be confident that an agreement can be struck for a cut-price – potentially under £17million (€20m) – because Mosquera is set to enter the final year of his contract next week.
Valencia had been keen to tie Mosquera down to fresh terms but dialogue between the parties has stalled over recent months as the player was reluctant to include a sizeable release clause in any new deal as it may have priced him out of a move at a later stage.
READ MORE: Viktor Gyokeres makes Man Utd decision as Arsenal prompt transfer U-turnREAD MORE: Myles Lewis-Skelly breaks silence on new Arsenal contract and Real Madrid decision
The La Liga club, who are battling financial problems, had still vowed to make Mosquera a competitive contract offer following face-to-face talks with his agent Sergio Barila earlier this month but that proposal is still yet to have arrived and the highly-coveted defender is now giving his priority to Arsenal with personal terms considered a formality.
Problematically for Valencia, they’re also trying to fight off interest in their other two centre-backs, Cesar Tarrega (who partnered Mosquera at the U21 Euros) and Yarek Gasiorowski after receiving approaches from Bologna and Feyenoord, respectively, and in their view, Mosquera represents their most-valuable asset so they may attempt to drive a hard bargain.
Their negotiating position is also significantly weakened by the fact that Mosquera is keen on joining Arsenal and that he’ll be a free agent in 2026 if they refuse to sell.
Arsenal have already completed early deals for Martin Zubimendi and goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga, only official announcements are pending, and Brentford captain Christian Norgaard is also set to sign on the dotted line at the Emirates following a breakthrough in talks with Brentford on Wednesday afternoon.
Berta has been scanning the market for defensive opportunities for Mikel Arteta, who has stressed he wants to improve his squad depth at centre-back, with Crystal Palace’s Marc Guehi and Club Brugge defender Joel Ordonez also among the list of options that have been considered.
Interest in versatile Dutch U21 star Jorrel Hato remains ongoing but at this stage, any deal would likely depend on the futures of Oleksandr Zinchenko and Jakub Kiwior plus Ajax’s potential asking price.
Join our new WhatsApp community! Click this link to receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.
Sky Sports discounted Premier League and EFL package
Sky has slashed the price of its Essential TV and Sky Sports bundle ahead of the 2025/26 season, saving members £192 and offering more than 1,400 live matches across the Premier League, EFL and more.
Sky will show at least 215 live Premier League games next season, an increase of up to 100 more.
