Arsenal and Man Utd ‘target’ makes ‘best teams’ admission amid intensifying transfer interest

Reported Arsenal and Manchester United target Ivan Fresneda has been speaking about his future amid intensifying transfer links.

The young full-back has been heavily linked with a move away from Real Valladolid this summer after an impressive campaign. The 18-year-old right-back is attracting attention from a number of clubs around Europe, including Arsenal, who could well be in the market for young talent this summer as they look to establish a long run of success.

Whether the Gunners can win the race to land Fresneda is another question, but it seems the defender has the ambition to join a club competing at the top.

Speaking to The Athletic, Fresneda said of his ambitions: “The fans have been very supportive from the moment I made my debut and they’ve been asking me to stay.

“My agent keeps me very much on the sidelines. I don’t really like to look at what a journalist might have written, but I’ve lived everything with a lot of emotion. I’m very grateful to the club, to the previous manager, and I’m trying to handle it as naturally as possible.

“I’m very young, I have to go step by step, not go backwards. Being the age I am, you have to keep improving and I’m doing that at Valladolid.” The defender added: “Everyone would like to go to the best teams in the world and that is one of my ambitions, of course.”

As things stand, the youngster is not out of contract until 2025, but he does have a release clause reportedly worth around £26million. That’s a big sum to pay for such a young player, but Valladolid are likely to demand it given the level of interest in their starlet, and as long as they can stay in La Liga. That looks likely, too, with Valladolid now five points clear of the drop following a good run of form of late.