As the Premier League prepares to resume the season this coming June, Arsenal's Dani Ceballos seemed caught in a quandary. His loan deal with the Gunners will expire ahead of the conclusion of football season in England and it's not yet known where he is headed next.
The expected course for Ceballos is to return to Real Madrid but he has struggled at Bernabeu with Zinedine Zidane calling the shots. And reports said the Arsenal board has ruled out a second loan deal involving the Spanish playmaker.
What the Gunners want, according to Mirror, is for Ceballos to stay on until the Premier League season is over. It is understood that club boss Mikel Arteta is planning to request Real to allow the Spain international to remain on the Arsenal roster to the last day of the season's campaign.
If the plea is not granted, Ceballos' stay at the Emirates will end on June 30 and where he goes after is yet to be answered. As far as the Gunners are concerned, the 23-year-old will not be with the club next season on another loan spell.
It was unclear, however, if Arteta is keen on signing the midfielder on a permanent deal. But as the report indicated, Arsenal's agreement will Real on the player does not include a buy-clause.
It appears too that playing for Sevilla is already out of the question as Ceballos has stated last week that a reunion with former boss Julen Lopetegui is not in his immediate plans.
While there is no clear path available for him, the possibility of officially becoming part of the Gunners is still there for the Spaniard. It was clear that he impressed playing for Arsenal and that was the case for both former manager Unai Emery and current boss Arteta.
The latter was convinced to deploy Ceballos as a starter in Arsenal's last three games before the coronavirus pandemic forced the suspension of the season.
As for Emery, Metro said the sacked Arsenal coach saw a promise on the young playmaker. Emery said he expects Ceballos to gain a spot on the Gunners' first-team and prove himself a key player when the campaign is restarted.
The Spanish boss noted that the former Real Betis star was hampered by an injury but rose to the challenge and made a statement that he can contribute big.
"He played with me, then he was injured and he was out for a long time, he has recovered and now, when the league resumes, he will certainly demonstrate his qualities again," Emery was reported as saying.
Added the former Arsenal manager: "Dani is a player who has excellent qualities and an incredible mentality: he wants to succeed. For Arsenal, it was a great market opportunity."
