Arsenal
Arsenal Boss Confirms He’ll Complete First January Signing Within Days
Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has confirmed that the club are expected to wrap-up their first January signing before the end of the week. See what he said here
With the winter transfer window now open for business, manager’s are working hard trying to strengthen their squads ahead of the second half of the season. Today, Arsenal confirm Mohamed Elneny will join the club soon….
Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has reiterated that Mohamed Elneny should become the clubs first January signing before the end of the week.
Elneny has been strongly linked with a move to the Emirates in recent weeks with ESPN reporting last week that a £7million fee had been agreed with his current club FC Basel.
The report also suggests that personal terms over a four-and-a-half-year deal have already been finalised with the player while he’s also understood to have completed his medical.
So we’ve been waiting patiently for official confirmation and it looks as though the deal should be concluded shortly as Arsene Wenger has now revealed that he expects things to be wrapped-up this week.
Speaking at his pre-match press conference this morning ahead of Wednesday’s trip to Liverpool, Wenger told reporters that the hold-up is linked to work permit and paperwork issues but the boss is confident things will be resolved over the coming days.
The Frenchman has previous hinted that Elneny may not be the only new arrival at the Emirates this month but Wenger expects plenty of other Premier League clubs to be active in what he feels will be one of the busiest January windows ever seen.
When asked for an update on the Elneny deal, the Arsenal boss is quoted as saying in the Daily Mail:
‘I expect movement [on Elneny] and we are positive that this week it can happen. The situation can be sorted out. There are work permit problems and special paperwork, a visa, we hope we can finalise it this week. As long as it’s not definitely signed you have to be cautious but I’m optimistic.
‘I believe many clubs will be active. My prediction is that it could be one of the most active January transfer windows that we’ve seen. For the media, it could be good news.
‘The clubs down in the table have to do something. The clubs at the top I’m sure will be active.
‘It’s down to the financial power and inflation could exist after the season. The anticipation to do business now could be important.
‘Everyone feels the responsibility to do something. The teams who fear to go down will feel under pressure not to accept the situation. It can make a difference sometimes. There are teams who have responded well in January.’
Elneny’s arrival will be important during the second half of the campaign as we’re lacking options in the middle of the park with Santi Cazorla, Francis Coquelin and Jack Wilshere on the sidelines.
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The Egyptian international has been impressing with Basel over the past two seasons and I think he’s coming in as Mathieu Flamini’s long-term replacement with the Frenchman expected to leave when his contract expires in June.
