'I will not hide to you' - Fulham boss Silva drops key transfer hint amid links to Arsenal right-back Cedric

• Gunners top of the league
• Cedric hardly playing
• Fulham looking for a new right-back

WHAT HAPPENED? The right-back has been strongly tipped to make a move to the Premier League side this January, while Rick Karsdorp and Hamari Traore have also been touted as targets. While addressing all these rumours, Silva happily rubbished any talk linking the club with the latter pair but wasn't quite so dismissive when discussing the Arsenal defender.

WHAT THEY SAID: Speaking before his side's trip to St James' Park to face Newcastle on Sunday, he said: “These two [Karsdorp and Traore], for sure, they are not true. I’m not saying if Cedric [Soares] is true or not, but the other two for sure are not true. We are looking for that position, I will not hide to you, though the others are not important for us to talk about."

THE BIGGER PICTURE: With 18 months left on his contract, it feels as though the Gunners could cash in on the defender this winter if the right opportunity was to arise. After all, Cedric has managed just 27 minutes of Premier League action so far this season with Ben White and Takehiro Tomiyasu ahead of him in the pecking order. What's more, the 31-year-old played under Silva back when the pair were at Sporting Lisbon, so he could be keen on a reunion.

IN TWO PHOTOS:

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WHAT NEXT FOR CEDRIC? The defender wasn't in the squad that beat Oxford United 3-0 in the FA Cup this week and so it seems unlikely that he'll play any part against Tottenham on Sunday.