Arsenal interest in £20m full-back hints at Nuno future

Nuno Tavares Could be Set for Loan Move Next Season

Across the Gunners’ four full-back options, if there is one that there is a preference to move on, it’s Cedric.

The Portuguese defender is now 30 years old (31 in August), on considerably higher wages than Nuno, for example, and has very much reached his potential. As one of the previous regime’s signings, he is a nod to the past, not the future.

Try telling him that, though.

Cedric knows he hit the jackpot when Arsenal signed him from Southampton back in January 2020, an initial loan move that turned into a permanent four-year deal that summer. Reports of him not eyeing a move away are unsurprising. He’s not stupid. This is a contract he won’t get anywhere else.

So does interest in an exciting young and versatile talent like Hickey hint towards a situation with Nuno instead?

He’s such a frustrating player. The spell he had earlier in the season where his rawness and natural ball carrying ability were a devastatingly effective addition to the starting lineup has fizzled away. Sloppy in possession, defensively unaware and positionally weak, all of his more worrying traits are coming to the fore. He instills fear instead of sparking excitement – although he does still offer the latter on occasion.

It’s evident that the materials are in his possession to be a competent left-back. He is gifted in certain areas. Yet the tactical weaknesses of his clearly require more coaching than initially anticipated.

Therefore, it could be that Arsenal will look to loan him out for next season, or perhaps even sell him. As established as Kieran Tierney is, his injury record is increasingly concerning as he now misses a third of the season almost by default, and the summer arrival may not be trusted as much to deputise. Nuno’s deficiencies could hint towards another player coming in to allow him playing time elsewhere, either temporarily or otherwise.

But then it would also be seen as throwing in the towel on a player who the club spent £7m on in the not too distant past. And, with the £20m fee Bologna are keen on (which seems high for someone out of contract in 2024), it’s resources distributed in areas of less pressing need.

One to look out for, though, certainly.