Arsenal hopeful of deal to sign Valencia defender Cristhian Mosquera

Arsenal Football Club is optimistic about securing a deal for Cristhian Mosquera, the 21-year-old defender from Valencia, following productive discussions with the Spanish club. Mikel Arteta, the head coach of Arsenal, is eager to bolster his defensive lineup and sees Mosquera as a key target to enhance the team's depth behind established center-backs William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhães. Mosquera, who has progressed through Valencia's youth academy and has accumulated 90 appearances for the first team, is reportedly valued at around £16 million. The player has also drawn interest from top clubs, including Real Madrid, but personal terms with Arsenal are anticipated to be straightforward, especially after his recent participation in Spain's European Under-21 Championship match against England, which ended in a quarter-final defeat for his team.

In addition to pursuing Mosquera, Arsenal is close to finalizing the acquisition of Christian Nørgaard from Brentford for a fee that could reach £15 million. The transfer of Nørgaard is expected to be completed shortly, and he will be joined by Martín Zubimendi from Real Sociedad. However, the future of midfielder Thomas Partey remains uncertain as he has not reached an agreement on a contract extension and appears poised to depart the club. Meanwhile, in a separate transfer development, Nottingham Forest's attempts to sign Timothy Weah and Samuel Mbangula from Juventus for a combined fee of £19.6 million have fallen through, as both players declined the move. Weah, the American forward and son of legendary footballer George Weah, along with Belgian winger Mbangula, were excluded from Juventus's recent match against Manchester City, indicating their desire to remain in Italy despite interest from Premier League teams such as Bournemouth, Everton, and Leeds.