Fulham have submitted a bid of around £3.5 million for Rennes captain Hamari Traore in a further sign that Cedric Soares could be stuck on the Arsenal bench until the summer, according to FootMercato.
If Mikel Arteta’s league leaders can hold off a Manchester City charge and claim English football’s biggest prize for the first time in nearly two decades, the champagne may taste a little bittersweet on Cedric’s palate.
The Portugal international has played just 27 minutes of Premier League football this season. He wasn’t even in the matchday squad for the recent 0-0 draw with high-flying Newcastle United; Ben White and Takehiro Tomiyasu now firmly established as Arteta’s go-to right-back options.
According to 90Min and The Standard, Arsenal had been hoping to get Cedric off the wage bill this month. Negotiations with Fulham have stalled, however, due to the 31-year-old’s £75,000-a-week pay-packet.
Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal had hoped to sell Cedric Soares to Fulham
Atletico Madrid already appear to have moved on from Cedric and Fulham are now doing the same. According to The Mail, Championship trio James Bree (Luton Town), Max Aarons (Norwich City) and Danny McNamara (Millwall) are all cut-price alternatives for Marco Silva’s side.
Hamari Traore, meanwhile, could be snapped up for a bargain fee with his contract expiring in July. FM say that Fulham are offering around £3.5 million for Rennes’ 30-year-old skipper.
Traore, capped 43 times by Mali, was a target for Crystal Palace and even Barcelona less than 12 months ago. Per L’Equipe, the Catalan giants held talks with Rennes before turning to Hector Bellerin; the Barca-born defender who had fallen out of favour at Arsenal.
Cedric’s chances of following Bellerin out the door, however, look slim. Unless, of course, he takes a leaf out of Bellerin’s playbook and accepts a sizeable pay cut (Fabrizio Romano).
In addition to Traore, Bree, Aarons and McNamara, Fulham have also held initial talks with Roma regarding £7 million-rated Dutchman Rick Karsdorp.
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