Arsenal continue to press to sign Valencia’s Cristhian Mosquera, who has been earmarked by Mikel Arteta as the heir to William Saliba and Gabriel in the heart of the North London side’s defence.
The Gunners have already had one offer rejected for the 21-year-old, but they have returned with an improved bid as they seek to sign a young talent who is regarded as the second-best in the world in his position in his age group.
Finding an agreement over a transfer fee with Valencia is, therefore, the last major hurdle that Arteta’s side will need to overcome in order to sign the Spaniard.
“Arsenal are pushing to try to reach a deal with Valencia for Cristhian Mosquera. Increased their bid to €21-22m to sign the centre-back, who has already reached an agreement in principle with the Gunners for a contract until 2030,” Schira tweeted.
Why Mosquera is such an exciting prospect
Mosquera has an Estimated Transfer Value (ETV) of €13.9m, which is a low figure largely because his contract with Valencia expires in 2026.
The potential of the player is undeniable, though. Over the course of the last two seasons, he has been a regular in Valencia’s defence, missing only three games in La Liga over the course of this period.
He is also the second-best promising centre-back in world football aged 21 or under, according to data analytics firm SciSports. Only a handful of players are thought to have a higher potential ceiling, including Barcelona’s Pau Cubarsi and Ajax’s Jorrel Hato, a player Arsenal have also been linked with this summer.
Mosquera vs Saliba: Playing style (2024/25)
Cristhian Mosquera
2024/2025 | LaLiga (ESP)
Centre back (3239 Minutes played)
William Saliba
2024/2025 | Premier League (ENG)
Centre back (3323 Minutes played)
Interestingly, Mosquera has a strong similarity in his playing style to both Saliba and Gabriel, the established centre-back pairing at Arsenal. This suggests that he can slot easily into a third-choice role at the Emirates.
Mosquera is thought to be good enough to one day become a stronger centre-back than Gabriel and will come close to the standard of Saliba, should he reach his full potential. This all adds up to make him an exciting prospect in North London, especially for a relatively low fee.
Arsenal transfer news headlines today
The FootballTransfers app
Check out FootballTransfers’ new app for all of football’s big storylines, transfer rumours and exclusive news in one convenient place directly on your mobile device.
The FootballTransfers app is available on Google Play and in the Apple App Store. Download here:
