Arsenal
Arsenal To Complete Signing This Week: Gunners Set To Agree Deal For 29-Year-Old Star
Arsenal are in advanced negotiations to sign Sokratis Papastathopoulos and are expected to wrap-up a £16m deal with Borussia Dortmund this week
The summer transfer window is now open and managers are working hard on their transfer targets so we’ll bring you all the latest gossip from around the globe. Today, Arsenal are closing-in on Sokratis Papastathopoulos…
Arsenal are in advanced negotiations to sign Sokratis Papastathopoulos and are expected to wrap-up a £16m deal with Borussia Dortmund this week, according to the Independent.
Sven Mislintat has been heading-up our transfer business this summer and our Head of Recruitment is ready to hand new boss Unai Emery a new back four ahead of next season.
We shipped 51 Premier League goals last year so we desperately need to rebuild our defence and the Independent claims Arsenal chiefs are planning to sign up to four new defenders this summer.
At least one centre-back is expected to arrive and the newspaper says we’re closing-in on the signing of Papastathopoulos after entering advanced negotiations with Dortmund.
The Independent claims Arsenal will meet the Bundesliga outfits £16m asking price this week after seeing an opening £13m offer rejected and Papastathopoulos is keen to complete a move to north London.
Mislintat knows the 29-year-old well from his time at the Westfalonstadion and the Greek international is set to become the third former Dortmund player to sign for Arsenal following the arrivals of Pierre Emerick Aubameyang and Henrikh Mkhitaryan in January.
Papastathopoulos has been a key player for the German giants since signing from Werder Bremen five years ago but he’s set to leave as he has just one year left on his contract and has made it clear he won’t sign an extension.
It’s clear we need to add some experience to our defence after Per Mertesacker’s retirement while Laurent Koscielny is facing six months on the sidelines following surgery on his Achilles.
Papastathopoulos fits the bill and he shouldn’t have any trouble adapting to life in England as he’s a tough defender who doesn’t shy away from the physical side of the game so I think he’ll be a solid addition.
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Let’s see how things progress over the coming days but Papastathopoulos’s arrival could be part of a double defensive swoop with speculation suggesting we’re also close to signing right-back Stephan Lichtsteiner on a free transfer.
