Arsenal Blow As Chelsea Agree Deal For £16m-Rated Midfield Target

With the summer transfer window finally open for business, managers are working hard trying to strengthen their squads ahead of next season so we’ll bring you all the news and gossip. Today, Chelsea close in on Charles Aranguiz…

Chelsea are closing in on the signing of Arsenal target Charles Aranguiz after agreeing a deal with Internacional to sign the Chilean international midfielder this summer, according to the Metro.

Aranguiz first caught the eye after putting in some impressive displays at last summers World Cup Finals and he continued that fine form last month after helping Chile lift the Copa America with a penalty-shoot victory over Argentina.

The 26-year-old has been strongly linked with a move to the Premier League in recent weeks with the Metro reporting earlier this month that Arsenal and Chelsea have been showing a keen interest in signing the midfielder this summer.

Marseille have also been credited with an interest but the London duo were then boosted when Aranguiz’s agent, Cesar Behling, confirmed the midfielder’s preference would be to move to the Premier League rather than France.

‘Aranguiz prefers the Premier League,’ Behling is quoted as saying by the Metro

‘But Marseille and Ligue 1 also have a great reputation and can’t be ruled out.’

Arsenal have been tipped to bring in another defensive midfielder this summer to offer competition to Francis Coquelin and it looked like Arsene Wenger was considering a move for the tough tackling Chilean.

However, it appears Chelsea have stolen a march on their rivals as the Metro are saying that after opening talks with Internacional over the weekend, the Blues have now reached an agreement with the Brazilian outfit over Aranguiz’s signature.

The report doesn’t state how much this proposed deal will be worth but the Metro have previously suggested that the midfielder is valued at around £16m, so it looks like Chelsea could be closing in on another big-money signing.

With so much transfer speculation flying about these days it’s difficult to know how much truth there is behind anything but I’d take this particular report with a pinch of salt until something more concrete comes out.

The Metro don’t seem to know any real specifics about this supposed ‘agreement’ so I would take it as nothing more than speculation for now.

READ MORE –> Arsenal transfer news | Chelsea transfer news

However, if the champions do end up signing Aranguiz I think he’d be a decent signing as he’s been hugely impressive whenever he’s played for Chile and he looks to have all the attributes needed to succeed in England.

Aranguiz would offer Jose Mourinho another defensive option in midfield which would allow Cesc Fabregas to have more freedom to get forward and influence play in the final third, but his arrival may cast doubt over the future of John Obi Mikel with the Nigerian already out-of-favour at Stamford Bridge.