Fulham 'keen on January deal for Arsenal's Cedric Soares'

The Portugal international has been demoted to third choice in the Gunners' right-back pecking order behind Takehiro Tomiyasu and Ben White in the 2022-23 season.

Cedric has only made four appearances for Mikel Arteta's men this term, starting just one of those matches in their 3-1 EFL Cup defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion last month.

The 31-year-old has played just 28 minutes of Premier League football off the bench against Nottingham Forest and Wolverhampton Wanderers, as well as coming on in the dying embers of Arsenal's final Europa League group game against FC Zurich.

Cedric was heavily linked with a move away in the summer after falling further down the pecking order, but he snubbed interest from Fulham to try to make a name for himself at the Emirates.

The right-back remains under contract in North London until the end of the 2023-24 season, and manager Arteta is said to value his experience in the dressing room.

However, Sky Sports News claims that Fulham remain attentive to Cedric's situation and are ready to explore the possibility of a permanent deal for the defender in January.

The report adds that the Cottagers did make enquiries over Cedric's availability in the summer, and a right-back is one of two winter priorities for Fulham, who also want to bring in a new central midfielder.

Furthermore, Fulham manager Marco Silva is understood to know Cedric well, and the Arsenal man's agent is Kia Joorabchian, who engineered Willian's move back to the Premier League in the summer.

Fulham also successfully negotiated the transfer of German goalkeeper Bernd Leno with Arsenal in the summer transfer window, but it is unclear if the Premier League leaders or Cedric would give the green light to a January move.

Cedric left Southampton for Arsenal on loan in January 2020 before making his move permanent later that year, and he has two goals and five assists under his belt from 59 games for the Gunners.

The former Sporting Lisbon youngster enjoyed a string of regular first-team appearances last season during Tomiyasu's time out with injuries, making 16 Premier League starts as Arsenal finished fifth in the table.

Cedric has also been involved in Arsenal's winter friendlies in the Dubai Super Cup, which the Gunners won courtesy of a 2-1 victory and 4-3 penalty shootout success over AC Milan on Tuesday.

The Gunners' final mid-season friendly takes place on Saturday as Juventus visit the Emirates Stadium, and Arteta's side return to Premier League duties with a Boxing Day London derby against West Ham United.

Coincidentally, Fulham meet the Hammers in a friendly this weekend and also mark their return to top-flight action with a capital clash against Crystal Palace on Boxing Day.