Arsenal are hoping to complete the loan signing of Cedric Soares today after the Gunners agreed to a deal with Southampton yesterday afternoon.
The Evening Standard report that the Saints right-back is set to sign for Mikel Arteta’s side with Arsenal paying Southampton an initial £1m loan fee for the Portuguese international as well as cover all of Cedric’s £65,000-a-week wages for the remainder of the season, bringing the total valuation of the deal, including undisclosed add-ons, to £3m.
Southampton announced yesterday the loan signing for Tottenham right-back Kyle Walker-Peters, a deal that has seemingly given Arsenal the green light to complete a deal for Cedric.
Are Southampton right to sell Cedric now?
Yes, better to make some money from him
No, we could have done with his experience
The 28-year-old defender admitted in an interview with The Telegraph last November that he will be departing Southampton at the end of this season when his contract expires, and it is expected that Cedric will join Arsenal permanently this summer as per The Evening Standard report.
As stats from Transfermarkt show, Cedric has been a vital part of Southampton’s resurgence in the Premier League since the club’s 9-0 defeat to Leicester City, with the former Inter Milan defender playing every minute of league football since the Saints 2-1 loss to Everton and cementing his place as one of Ralph Hasenhuttl’s most important players.
But despite this good form for Southampton, it seems like the club are taking a different approach as to who can fill in the right-back position for the second half of the season, and with Cedric’s contract coming to an end, it makes sense for the Saints board to ship off the Portuguese fullback when money can still be made for the defender.
