Arsenal signal highly-rated defender Cristhian Mosquera from Valencia

[ad_1] The Spain Below-21 worldwide will bolster supervisor Mikel Arteta’s defensive choices forward of the brand new season.

The Gunners can pay an preliminary £15 million for the 21-year-old, after sporting director Andrea Berta finalised phrases under Valencia’s authentic £17.4m asking value.

Mosquera is the foremost defensive addition of the summer time to Arsenal’s rearguard.

He'll present critical competitors for William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes on the coronary heart of the backline.

Comfy at each centre-back and right-back, Mosquera successfully fills the void left by Takehiro Tomiyasu, who not too long ago departed the membership by mutual consent.

Mosquera joins from Valencia, the place he made 90 senior appearances after progressing by means of their academy system.

Having joined the Spanish membership at 12, he made his first-team debut within the Copa del Rey aged 17, earlier than incomes his La Liga bow days later in a 1-1 draw with Sevilla in January 2022.

His rise has been speedy. After incomes promotion to the first-team squad forward of the 2023/24 season, Mosquera shortly grew to become a fixture in defence.

He began 37 of Valencia’s 38 league matches final time period, enjoying the complete 90 minutes in every of these begins.

Mosquera has began 70 of 72 attainable league fixtures since August 2023, a file that underlines his sturdiness and consistency.

His 6,394 minutes performed during the last two seasons is the very best complete recorded by any outfield participant aged 21 or beneath throughout Europe’s top-five leagues.

The transfer is a major coup for Arsenal. They'd been carefully monitoring his growth.

His defensive maturity and bodily reliability made him one of the crucial sought-after younger centre-backs on the continent.

Mosquera has already linked up along with his new teammates in Singapore, the place Arsenal confronted AC Milan on the Nationwide Stadium on Wednesday.

The Gunners will stay in Asia for friendlies in opposition to Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur in Hong Kong earlier than returning to London to finalise preparations for the 2025/26 marketing campaign.