FINALLY DONE: Arsenal has just completed another huge transfer signing as £90million superstar arrives on a five-years transfer deal- He has joined the team in Singapore
Arsenal made it clear to Crystal Palace centre-back Marc Guehi that they would strongly consider spending what was necessary to sign him this summer, according to Telegraph Sport.
The Gunners also told Spanish defender Dean Huijsen the same thing before he left Bournemouth for Real Madrid, expressing a willingness to trigger his £50 million release clause.
However, the 20-year-old opted against a move to Arsenal as he was not sure of his chances of regular football given the established partnership of William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes at centre-back.
Crystal Palace turned down £55m from Tottenham Hotspur for Guehi back in January, and the Gunners were keen to offer something similar or slightly more to get him.
However, the 25-year-old was clearly not convinced given the situation of things at the back at Arsenal, and the Gunners have gone for Valencia academy graduate Cristhian Mosquera, paying an initial £13m for the Spain youth international.
He was finally announced officially today after some outstanding issues were resolved given that he had undertaken medical tests and media days ago.
The North Londoners wanted a defender capable of providing quality cover for their current first-choice duo, and they will hope their latest addition can do that.
Manager Mikel Arteta and sporting director Andrea Berta reportedly provided assurances that Huijsen would get plenty of game time, and they likely told Guehi the same thing, but none were convinced and they have both turned down the chance to join Arsenal.
Mosquera will fancy his chances of seeing playing time given that he can play at right-back, as the right centre-back or the left.
Saliba and Gabriel have also suffered from serious injury issues in recent campaigns, and Arteta wants a quality player capable of stepping in should either become unavailable due to a knock or suspension.
Guehi or Huijsen would have been perfect for the job given their Premier League experience, but Mosquera has huge potential and could prove to be a perfect long-term signing in the end.
