Journalists have continued to play down reports that Cedric Soares’ departure to Fulham is advanced, with the player continuing to feature for Arsenal in friendlies.

Fabrizio Romano is the latest journalist to play down suggestions that Cedric Soares is about to finalise an Arsenal exit, reporting that whilst the defender is on Marco Silva’s shortlist, negotiations are not yet advanced with Arsenal.

This follows a report from the Evening Standard that Arsenal and Fulham are yet to hold formal negotiations, and the Gunners haven’t even decided if they’ll allow Cedric to leave.

Whilst Sky Sports recently claimed that Fulham want to sign Cedric on a permanent deal, the Evening Standard claim it’s actually likely to be a loan with an obligation to buy.

Though not significantly different, that does suggest Cedric would only leave permanently in the summer.

Then, whilst talkSPORT claimed Fulham were close to finalising a deal, the Evening Standard countered that Fulham have only held preliminary talks with the player’s representatives.

Cedric is Fulham’s number-one right-back target, and Arsenal have Ben White and Takehiro Tomiyasu, as well as the likes of Brooke Norton-Cuffy and Reuell Walters coming through the academy.

If Arsenal feel they can do without Cedric for the next few months, it may be for the best to cash in now and open up an opportunity for their youngsters to make their next steps into Mikel Arteta’s squad next season.

But they’ll also want to get the best deal they can. Cedric has a deal at Arsenal lasting until 2024, and ESPN reported in November that Fulham, Bayer Leverkusen, and Villarreal were all interested in signing Cedric in the January window, with all three still in the race now.

With Cedric featuring for Arsenal in all but one of their five friendlies over the World Cup break, Mikel Arteta may feel it’s in their best interests to delay the deal a bit longer and let the three clubs battle it out.