Dani Ceballos is expected to arrive in London today to finalise his return to Arsenal on a season long loan move from Real Madrid, according to reports.
Ceballos spent last season on loan at the Emirates Stadium and after a slow start to life in England the midfielder became an important part of Mikel Arteta’s starting eleven during the second half of the campaign.
The 24-year-old formed an excellent partnership alongside Granit Xhaka in the middle of the park and played a vital role in Arsenal’s march to FA Cup glory having scored the winner against Sheffield United before impressing against Manchester City and Chelsea.
Ceballos returned to Madrid this summer to be told he’s still not part of Zinedine Zidane’s first team plans and the Guardian are one of several media outlets claiming that Arsenal are set to sign the midfielder on another loan deal.
The newspaper said earlier this week that Arteta has convinced Ceballos to turn down three other offers in order to re-join Arsenal as the Gunners boss continues to reshape his squad this summer.
ESPN claims that Ceballos is due to travel to London to put the finishing touches on the move as a deal between Arsenal and Madrid is virtually done. It will be another one-year loan as Arsenal don’t have the finances to fund a permanent transfer.
This is supported by Spanish news agency EFE, who are cited in today’s paper version of Mundo Deportivo [you can see a screenshot of the story here] as saying that Ceballos is set to travel to London today in order to wrap-up his move to the Emirates.
The former Real Betis star wants first team football ahead of the European Championships and it seems Arteta has convinced him he’ll continue to be an important part of his new-look side at Arsenal this coming campaign.
So it looks like Ceballos is set to become Arteta’s fifth major signing of the summer following the arrivals of Willian and Gabriel while Cedric Soares and Pablo Mari have made their loan moves permanent.
However, Ceballos is set to miss the start of the Premier League season as he’ll need to quarantine for 14 days when he lands in London due to government guidelines. It means he won’t be able available for Arsenal’s opening game against Fulham on September 12.
