Real Valladolid defender Ivan Fresneda has been linked with a significant percentage of Europe’s biggest clubs in the last six months, but his future remains unclear.
The 18-year-old right-back caught the eye at the start of last season with Valladolid in La Liga, and has since been linked with the likes of Newcastle United, Borussia Dortmund and Arsenal. In Spain, Barcelona have also been strongly linked, but the latest ‘favourite’ for his signature is AFC Bournemouth.
Fresneda returned to preseason training this week with La Pucela, and Sporting Director Fran Sanchez did confirm they had received verbal offers for Fresneda.
“Some proposals have arrived for Fresneda, not in writing, but verbally, about what they can pay, but we haven’t responded yet.”
Sanchez told Sport that Fresneda “is going to join on Wednesday and he is one of our players. If an offer arrives that we consider sufficient, it may happen, but as of today there is nothing immediate. The value of the player is up to us.”
Those statements make it sound as if a deal is some way off. Fresneda looks a strong candidate to leave, and given the interest in him, there will be a significant temptation to cash in on him, given they just dropped down to Segunda. Fresneda will likely have a number of clubs trying to turn his head towards bigger things too.
That said, Valladolid’s sale of Gonzalo Plata means that they will not be in desperate need of a sale, and can afford to hold out for the fee they want.
