Premier League side Arsenal are looking to sign Real Valladolid defender Ivan Fresneda before the transfer deadline, according to reports.

The Gunners are looking to be active in the final couple of days of the transfer market after already completing the signings of Leandro Trossard from Brighton and Jakub Kiwior from Spezia.

Negotiations for the potential signing of Moises Caicedo from Brighton are dragging on with the Seagulls adamant they won’t sell despite two huge offers from the Gunners.

And now transfer expert Fabrizio Romano insists that Arsenal and Borussia Dortmund are “moving behind the scenes” to land Fresneda before the deadline.

Romano told GiveMeSport: “Let’s see how it will progress. The player has to decide, it’s really important to understand what the player wants to do.

“I’m told the that the German club is also moving behind the scenes on Fresneda, but now Borussia Dortmund and Arsenal are leading the race.”

And there could be a breakthrough over a potential transfer after Fresneda – who missed training during the week – was absent from Valladolid’s squad as they beat Valencia 1-0 on Sunday.

Sky Sports presenter Dharmesh Sheth said last week that he thought a deal for Fresneda was a “no-brainer” with the low fee being mooted.

Sheth told GiveMeSport: “The information that I’ve got on that one is that they’re expecting a lot of offers in the final week for Fresneda because the asking price is only €15 million. So, it seems like a no-brainer for a young player with bags and bags of potential.”

ESPN‘s Gabriele Marcotti played down Fresneda’s ability recently with the pundit unimpressed by what he’s seen from the 18-year-old.

“I have to say, I saw this dude – maybe it’s because Valladolid aren’t very good – [but] I watched two entire Valladolid games. In one he was okay, and in the other one, he wasn’t very good, although Valladolid weren’t good. Are we getting a little bit carried away, what are they seeing?”

It looks unlikely that Arsenal will bring in another forward before the transfer deadline, despite the injury to Gabriel Jesus, with Eddie Nketiah in brilliant form.

When asked whether Nketiah has earned the right to stay in the Arsenal side when Jesus returns, former Premier League striker Noel Whelan told Football Insider: “Absolutely. This is exactly the problem Arteta wanted. This is why he kept Nketiah at the club. They let Aubameyang go, let Lacazette go – but he’s saved the club a lot of money.

“They’ve kept a really good, young, promising striker around – and that decision is paying dividends. Jesus is going to have to fight for his place. He might be the big name, but Nketiah has done everything he was asked to do.

“He deserves to be the first choice in that striker role now. It’s a great problem to have for Arteta. This is exactly what he needs at this point in the season. It’ll be massive to have Jesus back.”