Arsenal are now in pole position ahead of Tottenham to win the signature of Real Madrid midfielder Dani Ceballos, as per the latest reports in Marca.
Marca claims that although there have been reports of Tottenham opening discussions with Real London, the North London club are still favourites to sign the Spaniard this summer.
The Sun are reporting that the Emirates club are hoping to sign Ceballos on an initial season-long loan deal and that could be ideal for us as Emery only has a tight budget to work from this summer. AS claim the midfielder is valued at £45m.
Ceballos is thought to be a replacement for Aaron Ramsey who joined Juventus on a free transfer at the end of the last season. The Spaniard joined the Spanish giants in the summer of 2017 but has not really been able to hold down a place of his own in the Real team.
His journey has been complicated with the presence of players such as Luka Modric, Toni Kroos and Casemiro. And with Real manager Zinedine Zidane informing Ceballos that he is no longer part of the team’s plans, the midfielder is looking for opportunities elsewhere.
The Spaniard feels that he is not playing as many matches as he should be and it is understandable given that he is still a very young player. He turns 23 in less than a month and will be hoping that he can find regular playing time at another club.
If he were to come to the Emirates, he will surely fit into the way the Gunners set out to play. He could be the perfect foil for both Lucas Torreira and Granit Xhaka. Apart from being excellent on the ball, he is an underrated tackler.
This is one aspect of his playing style that does not get mentioned a lot. But for those who have seen him play, they know that there is a lot of steel beneath that silk.
Not having Champions League football will put Arsenal at a bit of a disadvantage but manager Unai Emery really wants the player. If the club is able to get Ceballos on a loan deal with an option to buy, it would be a very good deal. Arsenal need to strengthen if they want to get back into the Champions League and this is one way to do it.
