Arsenal near first January transfer as Cedric Soares and Sacha Boey plan made clear
Galatasaray are interested in signing Cedric Soares this month, football.london understands.
The Portuguese international has hardly featured at Arsenal this season, with his only start coming in the Gunners final Champions League group game against PSV in December. Mikel Arteta has been an admirer of Cedric's professional approach during this period and may be reluctant to lose him with Jurrien Timber and Takehiro Tomiyasu's absence limiting numbers in the Gunners' backline.
The return of Thomas Partey however, gives Arsenal another option at right back. With this in mind the Gunners are open to finding someone who would be willing to take Cedric's £100,000 per week wages off their books.
Galatasaray have emerged as contenders for the 32-year-old's signature. The Turkish champions may well lose current right back Sacha Boey this window, with the French defender attracting interest from Bayern Munich.
Boey was linked to Arsenal in the summer although the Gunners were understood to be looking at alternative targets in the full back position and ultimately opted for Jurrien Timber instead. Should Boey leave Galatasaray, then they would be looking to bring in Cedric as a replacement on a permanent deal.
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Cedric is also attracting interest from Besiktas who have been in talks with Arsenal over a permanent transfer. The player is understood to be open to a deal.
Cedric's departure would not necessarily see Arsenal go back into the transfer market to look for a replacement despite reports that the Gunners could look to sign a defender in the final days
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