Arsenal identify PSG defender as Cedric Soares replacement: Good move for the Gunners?

lekhaka-Aveek chakraborty

Bengaluru,
January
11:
Arsenal
are
reportedly
eyeing
a
swoop
for
Paris
Saint-Germain’s
Colin
Dagba
with
the
defender
seeking
an
exit
for
increased
first-team
opportunities.
The
Gunners
have
already
let
Ainsley
Maitland-Niles
leave
the
club
on
loan
to
AS
Roma
earlier
last
week
and
some
of
the
latest
reports
suggest
that
it
could
be
the
same
case
with
Cedric
Soares
well.

The
30-year-old
defender
is
reportedly
a
target
of
Atletico
Madrid
who
lost
Kieran
Trippier
to
Newcastle
United
during
this
window.
As
a
result,
the
club
is
said
to
be
looking
to
bring
in
another
player
in
that
position
and
the
23-year-old
PSG
youngster
is
said
to
be
one
of
their
preferred
choices.

Dagba’s
struggle
at
PSG

Coming
through
the
PSG
youth
setup
Dagba
got
a
breakthrough
in
the
2018/19
campaign.
However,
despite
strong
promises,
he
is
yet
to
cement
himself
as
a
regular
in
the
PSG
set-up.
He
is
yet
to
complete
over
1,400
minutes
of
league
football
in
any
of
his
three
completed
reasons.

Moreover,
the
French
international’s
role
in
the
PSG
first-team
has
reduced
further
this
season
following
the
arrival
of
Achraf
Hakimi.
The
former
Dortmund
fullback
has
become
the
uncontested
first-choice
option
at
right-back,
which
has
restricted
Dagba’s
overall
game-time
to
just
166
minutes
of
league
football.
As
a
result,
Dagba
is
reportedly
on
the
lookout
for
a
new
club.

Good
deal
for
the
Gunners?

Cedric
hasn’t
been
able
to
offer
much
quality
and
replacing
him
with
Dagba
would
be
nothing
but
prominent.
Dagba
at
just
23-years
of
age
has
a
lot
of
promising
years
ahead
of
him.
Moreover,
he
could
reportedly
be
available
for
a
fee
of
around
£10million,
making
him
a
cost-effective
choice
as
well.

However,
Dagba
is
more
likely
to
move
in
the
summer
than
during
January.
He
has
apparently
rejected
the
advances
of
a
couple
of
Ligue
1
outfits,
including
Saint-Etienne.
However,
competing
at
the
Premier
League
with
a
refreshing
Arsenal
side
could
come
as
a
tempting
proposal
to
him.