The Spain Under-21 international is closing in on a summer switch to the Emirates Stadium after a meteoric rise at the Mestalla
According to transfer guru , Arsenal have reached an agreement on personal terms with Cristhian Mosquera, the Valencia academy product who made the final shortlist for the 2024 Golden Boy award. The Gunners saw their opening bid of £12 million ($16m) rejected, but are hopeful of concluding a deal for the 21-year-old for around £17m (£23m) as Mikel Arteta aims to bolster his defensive ranks for the 2025-26 season, with now reporting that a final agreement with Valencia is very close.
Arsenal were also credited with an interest in Dean Huijsen before his move to Real Madrid from Bournemouth, but Mosquera represents a more affordable alternative who arguably has just as much potential to unlock as his Spanish compatriot. Indeed, Mosquera looks destined to become the next major success story to emerge from Valencia's esteemed academy, following in the footsteps of legendary figures such as David Silva and Raul Albiol.
Any La Liga fans who have watched Mosquera regularly over the past two years would attest to that, as would those who caught their first glimpse of the youngster during this summer's Under-21 European Championship. Arsenal are not on the cusp of signing merely a back-up player; Mosquera can compete with William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes for regular minutes if he continues to improve at such a rapid rate.
The question is: what makes Mosquera such an exciting prospect? GOAL brings you everything you need to know about the Gunners' latest target…
Where it all began
Born in Alicante, Spain, to Colombian parents, Mosquera grew up in a family that loved football. But according to , his first love was basketball. He would watch the NBA on television instead of La Liga, and due to his imposing height, was able to excel playing basketball in his hometown.
Mosquera's sporting priorities changed when his uncle called asking if he would join his cousin's team, San Blas Canavate Futsal, who were low on numbers. He quickly made the shift to grass football from there, standing out as a winger because of his long strides and impressive physicality.
After spells at SCD Carolinas and Hercules, Mosquera attracted attention from Valencia, who decided he was better suited to defence. The Liga giants drafted him into their youth system in 2016, when he was just 12 years old, and five years later, he made his debut for the reserves before, in January 2022, he took his senior bow under Jose Bordalas.
Mosquera started in a 1-0 Copa del Rey victory over CD Atletico Baleares, becoming the youngest centre-half to ever make a senior appearance for Valencia at 17 years, six months and 23 days old, and earned a glowing review from Bordalas with his performance. "Very good. He was the best player on the team, undoubtedly," said the Spanish coach.
Eventually, Mosquera would become the best player in the squad, but he was made to wait patiently for a regular role initially, mainly because Bordalas was sacked by Valencia at the end of the 2021-22 season.
AdvertisementAFPThe big break
Italy legend Gennaro Gattuso was drafted in to replace Bordalas, and he simply did not give Mosquera the chance to reach the next stage in his development. The talented defender only made three league appearances during Gattuso's seven-month tenure, and would no doubt have been relieved when the former AC Milan star was given his marching orders in January 2023 as a punishment for Valencia dropping to 14th in the table.
Mosquera's fortunes did not immediately improve under Gattuso's successor, Ruben Baraja, as he was sent back to the reserves, but he then benefitted from the misfortune of a team-mate. First-choice centre-back Gabriel Paulista missed the start of the 2023-24 season due to injury, and Baraja asked Mosquera to fill in for the Brazilian. It was exactly the break that the youngster needed to kick-start his Valencia career, and he did exactly that while logging 3,075 minutes in La Liga – the most for any teenager since Thibaut Courtois played 3,261 for Atletico Madrid in 2011-2012 – to help Valencia secure a ninth-place finish, well up from 16th the previous year.
Mosquera's dominance at the back was highlighted by his ranking in the 95th percentile of La Liga players for duels won, and Valencia were so pleased with his impact that they let Paulista join Atletico on a free transfer midway through the season. Transfer rumours also started to swirl around Mosquera, but he battled them away in an interview with in March 2024, while also aiming a not-so-subtle dig at Gattuso.
"It was a sh*tshow last year1 It has been a radical change from last year to this one, I had not been able to play with continuity for years and this year I have been given the opportunities, thanks to God and the trust that Ruben Baraja is giving me at Valencia ," he said. "I'm not going to lie, mentally it was difficult, but it was about being patient and not getting overwhelmed, waiting for my moment, I knew it was going to come… I am very focused on Valencia, ignoring the rumours that people say that they want me. I am happy."
(C)Getty ImagesHow it's going
Mosquera made the Spain squad for the Olympic Games in Paris on the back of his breakthrough campaign at Valencia, and although he only appeared once at the tournament, he returned to Valencia with a gold medal around his neck. The joy of that experience, however, soon gave way to despair.
There was no drop in Mosquera's individual standards, but Valencia went into steep decline as a collective in the first half of the 2024-25 campaign, and fell into the relegation zone with only two wins from their opening 17 games. Baraja paid the ultimate price, and former West Brom and Olympiacos boss Carlos Corberan then stepped into the Mestalla dugout with the brief to preserve the club's La Liga status by any means necessary.
To achieve that, Corberan transitioned from Baraja's 4-2-3-1 system to a more defensively solid 3-4-2-1 system. Subsequently, Valencia only conceded 25 goals in the Spaniard's first 14 games at the helm, and Mosquera was colossal, both on and off the ball, as Coberan also encouraged his team to play out from the back.
Valencia went unbeaten through their final nine La Liga fixtures and ended up in 12th, a remarkable feat considering the perilous position they found themselves in over the festive period. It was another fine campaign for Mosquera, who also netted his first senior goal in a 2-0 home win against Leganes, and it was no surprise when he was included in Santi Denia's Spain squad for the U21 Euros, alongside defensive partner Cesar Tarrega.
Spain would suffer a disappointing quarter-final exit at the hands of eventual winners England, but Mosquera received widespread acclaim for his performances, and seniors coach Luis de la Fuente has since confirmed that Mosquera has chosen to represent Spain over Colombia, and he will thus now be targeting a place in the squad ahead of next summer's World Cup in North America.
Getty ImagesBiggest strengths
Former Valencia youth coach Miguel Angel Angulo has described Mosquera as “physically dominant, technically sound, and remarkably mature for his age", which is an accurate assessment. Mosquera is also blessed with explosive recovery pace and his general footballing IQ is very high, particularly when it comes to positioning.
All of that ensures that Mosquera is very rarely beaten in one-on-one situations, but it is his quality on the ball that really sets him apart from his peers. Mosquera loves to drive out of defence and play incisive passes, which he can execute to a very high standard with both feet. It's easy to imagine him slotting into Arteta's system at Arsenal without a hitch, and he should have little trouble adapting to the intensity of Premier League football given his physical attributes.