Chelsea could once again heavily impact the January transfer plans of London rivals Arsenal as both clubs are pushing to sign a right-back. The Gunners are hopeful of agreeing a deal for Real Valladolid star Ivan Fresneda in January, while Lyon's Malo Gusto is firmly on the radar of the Blues and football.london understands personal terms have already been agreed for the teenager.
A number of options were listed as possible Reece James alternatives for Chelsea, with Josip Juranovic, Nahuel Molina and Denzel Dumfries all considered. However, it looks as though Gusto is now the desired option for the Blues, who saw their €20m (£17.6m) opening bid rejected by Lyon, according to Santi Aouna.
As for Arsenal, their pursuit of a right-back could not be further from Chelsea's as Fresneda has always appeared to be the primary target. Newcastle were also interested in his signature, but it now looks to be a straight shoot-out between the Gunners and Borussia Dortmund.
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According to The Athletic, Arsenal have already agreed personal terms with Fresneda, although Dortmund have arranged a similar deal for the Spanish defender. Both clubs are also said to have put forward a £13million offer to the Spanish club.
Initially, it looked as though Arsenal would only be competing with Dortmund for Fresneda, but now another club could join that race and it will potentially feel like deja vu for the Gunners.
Lyon are hopeful that by accepting the terms sent by Chelsea for Gusto, the French club can have the teenager on loan for the remainder of the season. Whether that is granted by the Blues remains to be seen, however if it is declined, Lyon will need a replacement for his departure and Fresneda has been eyed as that man.
While not a direct hijack from Chelsea on Arsenal, as we saw earlier in the transfer window with the £88million transfer of Mykhailo Mudryk, the Gunners could no doubt lose out on another one of their main targets if Chelsea reject Lyon's request to have Gusto for the remainder of the season.
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