Ceballos nears Arsenal return on loan from Real Madrid

Dani Ceballos is edging closer to rejoining Arsenal on a season-long loan deal from Real Madrid, according to reports.

The midfielder spent the entire 2019/20 campaign with the Gunners, having joined on loan in July.

It was a season of two halves for the Spaniard. Ceballos found it difficult to hammer down a place in the starting XI under Unai Emery during his first few months at the club.

GOSSIP: Arsenal may trade Ozil, £76.1m quartet for midfield duo

Also at the start of November, he suffered a hamstring injury that kept him out of action for six weeks.

During his time on the sidelines, Emery was sacked as Arsenal manager. This came after a poor start to the season that left the Gunners eight points adrift of the top four.

Ex-player Mikel Arteta was brought in to replace him, and this was just the fresh start that Ceballos needed. The two Spaniards clearly have a good relationship and after a few games on the bench, Ceballos was back in the starting XI.

His first start in over three months came in February as Arsenal beat Newcastle 4-0 at the Emirates.

Ceballos returned to form from this point on and he was an ever-present in the team. He started every game since the return from lockdown, helping Arsenal finish eighth in the Premier League.

The 24-year-old also played a key role as Arsenal won the FA Cup for the 14th time. He scored the winning goal in the Quarter-Final against Sheffield United and he also performed well as his side dispatched Man City and Chelsea to lift the trophy.

And now Goal claims that another season-long loan deal ‘is close to being agreed’ with the Spanish giants and Arsenal ‘deep in discussions’ over the potential temporary move.

Ceballos will be hoping to kick on from where he left off in 2019/20 as we move into the new season. He will be desperate for regular football that gives him the chance to stake his claim for a place in Spain’s Euro 2021 squad.

The midfielder will become Arsenal’s fourth signing of the window. The Gunners have already signed Willian on a free from Chelsea, centre-back Pablo Mari from Flamengo and Cedric Soares’ loan from Southampton has been made permanent.