Wenger Confirms Double Swoop As Arsenal Close In On Midfield Duo

With the winter transfer window in full swing, manager’s are working hard trying to strengthen their squads ahead of the second half of the season. Today, Arsenal are set to complete a double swoop….

Arsene Wenger has confirmed Arsenal are closing-in on a double swoop for Nigerian youngsters Kelechi Nwakali and Samuel Chukwueze with the duo expected to complete their moves before the transfer window slams shut, according to the Mirror.

Nwakali and Chukwueze caught the eye of several top European clubs at last year’s Under-17s World Cup in Chile after they played a starring role for eventual winners Nigeria.

Nwakali is particular shone as he captained the Nigerians to victory and the  17-year-old central midfielder was eventually voted as the Player of the Tournament after putting in some excellent performances.

Chukwueze is predominantly a right-sided attacking midfielder and he also impressed scouts after scoring three goals and provided three assists for the young Super Eagles.

The Mirror claim that as well as impressing Arsenal scouts, the duo’s potential also alerted the likes of Manchester City and Bayern Munich. However, it looks like we’ve beaten off competition from the pair as the paper says we’ve agreed a £3m double deal to sign the duo from the Diamond Football Academy in Umuahia, Nigeria..

Speaking at his pre-match press conference this morning ahead of Saturday’s FA Cup clash with Burnley, Wenger confirmed to reporters that talks are progressing well and the Arsenal boss is hoping to resolve work permit issues in time to wrap-up the deals before Monday night’s deadline.

When asked if he expects to complete the signings of Nwakali and Chukwueze this month, Arsene is quoted as saying by the Mirror:

“Yes. The (talks) are progressing well.

“Yes of course there are work permit issues. There are medical issues, because they have to make medicals. It’s progressing well.

“We identified Nwakali as the player of the tournament, basically, and as a top player. We will see if we can manage to get it over the line during this transfer period. [If we can], we will do it. He (Chukwueze) is signing as well.”

This comes after the Express carried a quote from Nwakali today confirming that he’s set to fly to London to undergo his medical, so it looks like we’re closing in on the signing of two exciting young midfielders.

If the pair complete their moves to the Emirates over the coming days, they will become our second and third signings of the January transfer window after Mohamed Elneny completed his month from Basel earlier this month.

Neither player is likely to make any impression on the first team just yet but they are full of potential so hopefully they can develop under the tutelage of Wenger and his coaching staff over the coming years before making their breakthrough in to the first team.