Arsenal
Player expected in London today to undergo medical ahead of £18m Arsenal move
Alberto Lokonga is expected to travel to London today for his medical ahead of a proposed £18m move to Arsenal from Anderlecht
Anderlecht midfielder Albert Lokonga is expected to be given the green light to travel to London today to undergo his medical and finalise his move to Arsenal, according to Dutch outlet Voetbalkrant.
Lokonga has been strongly linked with a move to the Emirates Stadium in recent weeks after emerging as a prime transfer target for Mikel Arteta – who’s desperately trying to overhaul his squad this summer.
Matteo Guendouzi has already joined Marseille while Dani Ceballos and Martin Odegaard have returned to Real Madrid following loan spells. Granit Xhaka, Lucas Torreira and Joe Willock are also tipped to leave Arsenal so Arteta needs midfield reinforcements and Lokonga has been identified as a key signing.
Het Nieuwsblad [via Sport Witness] reported last week that a deal was close with Arsenal expected to pay £15m [€17.5m] up front with another £3.4m [€4m] in potential bonuses meaning the transfer could be worth just over £18m.
Speculation has been rife that Lokonga is already in the UK after being given permission to miss Anderlecht’s pre-season training camp in Holland but Dutch outlet Voetbalkrant claims the midfielder is still awaiting the call to be told he can travel to London to finalise the move.
According to the report, that call is expected to be made today so Lokonga is due to head for the English capital to undergo his medical with both Arsenal and Anderlecht wanting to officially announce the deal before the end of the week.
Guardian journalist Fabrizio Romano says that personal terms with Lokonga’s camp have already been agreed with the midfielder set to sign a five-year contract at the Emirates Stadium.
So it looks like Arsenal are on the verge of wrapping-up their first signing of the summer window and Lokongo should prove to be an excellent long-term addition to Arteta’s squad as he’s one of the most highly-rated talents in Belgian football.
The 21-year-old has already captained Anderlecht having established himself in their first team over the past two seasons and was named on the stand-by list for the Belgian Euro 2020 squad.
The 6ft midfielder is known to be an excellent passer and is comfortable driving the ball forward from deep so it will be interesting to see how he develops at Arsenal under Arteta if this proposed deal goes through as planned.
