Arsenal's last chance at January transfer business is off with Cedric set to stay
Cedric Soares is set to stay at Arsenal for the remainder of his contract football.london understands.
The Portuguese defender, who has just six months remaining on his deal in north London, was heavily linked with a move away from the Emirates last month. The English transfer window closed on February 1st but there had still been some hope that he could secure an exit.
Galatasaray and Besiktas had both shown an interest in taking the 32-year-old for a small fee. With the Turkish transfer window not ending until February 9th there had still be some hope that Cedric could make a move.
Arsenal were open to the idea of letting the experienced Portuguese defender go, given that he is understood to be on £100,000 per week and has started just once in all competitions this season. It is understood now though that an exit is off.
Galatasaray have opted to go for Nottingham Forest's Serge Aurier as a replacement for Sacha Boey who left last month to join Bayern Munich. Besiktas meanwhile held talks with Arsenal over a move but never submitted an official bid. Cedric will now stay with Arsenal for the remainder of his contract, which expires this summer.
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It is unlikely that the 32-year-old's chances of game time will improve, with Arsenal out of both domestic cups. Ben White has been ahead of Cedric in the pecking order for some time at right back, while Takehiro Tomiyasu's return from the Asian Cup and Jurrien Timber's impending comeback from an ACL injury are unlikely to do much for his opportunities to get minutes.
This means that the only first
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