Arsenal are considering whether to make an offer for Real Madrid defender Victor Valdepenas before the transfer window closes, according to reports.
The Daily Mail claim the Gunners are lining up a potential approach for the 19-year-old “in the coming days”.
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There are no guarantees that Valdepenas will make the switch to the Emirates before Monday’s deadline.
However, it is believed that even if the move fails to materialise due to the costs involved, it is a transfer that could still be revisited in the summer.
What do fans need to know about Valdepenas?
The 19-year-old has only made one appearance for Real’s first team. That came against Alaves when he played 78 minutes during a 2-1 win in mid-December.
Valdepenas has been an unused substitute on two other occasions, against Manchester City in the Champions League and versus CF Talavera in the Copa Del Rey last month.
However, the teenager has rarely made the matchday squad, and he has been playing most of his football for Real’s B team, Castilla, in the Spanish third tier. He can be deployed either as a centre-half or as a left-back.
Arsenal are hoping Real are open to selling
Valdepenas signed a contract extension in October 2024, keeping him at the Bernabeu until the summer of 2029, so there are still three and a half years remaining on his current deal.
That means Real will hold all the cards in negotiations, and a lot will hinge on how willing they are to sell.
It should be pointed out that they are not averse to offloading academy stars. The likes of Nico Paz and Jacobo Ramon have joined Como over the past 18 months, but they do tend to include very low buyback clauses, which the Gunners are unlikely to agree to. We shall have to wait and see if Mikel Arteta’s side advance negotiations over the next few days.
Read more about the Arsenal First Team Squad for 2025/26 here