Arsenal defender, Cedric has changed his mind about staying in North London this summer.
As previously reported, Villarreal are planning an offer for Cedric which is expected to arrive very soon. The Spanish side have already held informal talks with Cedric’s representatives over a potential transfer this summer.
Originally the Portuguese right-back was reluctant to leave North London this summer as he believes he could get a chance to play Champions League football at the Gunners next season. Cedric is also on £70k-per-week with a year left on his Arsenal contract and he was against the idea of taking a pay-cut this summer.
However it appears the situation has changed after Mikel Arteta held talks with the 31-year-old last week. The Arsenal boss explained to the player that he wasn’t in his plans for the upcoming season. Arteta also reiterated that point by leaving him out of the squad that has travelled to the United States for the pre-season tour.
READ MORE: Arsenal midfielder now likely to stay at the club this summer.
Cedric initially was determined to stay at the Emirates Stadium and fight for his place. However after the likes of Villarreal and Sporting have shown their interested in signing the player this summer, it now appears Cedric would be happy to leave Arsenal, as long as he moves to a team playing in Europe next season.
Arsenal ready to accept a minimal fee to let the player leave this summer, with an offer from Villarreal expected very soon. The Yellow Submarines are in the Europa League next season which could convince Cedric that a move to Spain is the smart choice, where he will definitely get more minutes than if he decides to stay in North London.
Cedric is one of many players expected to leave Arsenal over the next few weeks. Albert Sambi Lokonga is wanted by Burnley, with Kieran Tierney’s future still undecided. Folarin Balogun is also attracting a lot of interest from clubs around Europe with the young striker expected to generate a fee of around £50million which will help Arsenal continue their summer spending later in the window.
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