Arsenal and Real Madrid have a big decision to make at the end of this season regarding the futures of Dani Ceballos and Martin Odegaard.
A deal for the Norwegian might prove to be a difficult one to complete as many at Real Madrid still believe that Odegaard can be the player they all thought he would be at the Spanish capital.
Ceballos, on the other hand, is a different story. The chances of the Spaniard nailing down a spot at the Bernabeu is extremely slim.
There is a serious possibility that Arsenal can sign him permanently, but a new report claims that Zinedine Zidane might change his mind.
Defensa Central claim that the Real Madrid boss wants Ceballos to return to the Spanish capital at the end of this season.
Zidane wants to give the Spaniard an opportunity to succeed at the Bernabeu and he will only make a decision about the midfielder’s future once he sees him in pre-season.
Arsenal Insider’s view:
Realistically, Arsenal will end up with just Thomas Partey and Granit Xhaka in central midfield at the end of this season.
Lucas Torreira and Matteo Guendouzi will likely be sold, while the futures of Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Joe Willock are up in the air. Mohamed Elneny could also decide to move on to get regular game time, which would leave us worryingly short of options.
Multiple reports have claimed that Real Madrid will sit down with Arsenal to discuss Ceballos’ future. The latest news about Zidane wanting to give him a chance throws a spanner in the works, but a deal is still achievable.
Apart from his two mistakes against Benfica, Ceballos has been really good for us. He offers Arsenal something different compared to Partey and Xhaka, and if Real Madrid put him up for sale, we should go all out to sign him.
