Arsenal To Offer Draxler £80k Contract After Provisionally Agreeing €43.5m Deal

With the January transfer window entering it’s final stages clubs are working hard to try and strengthen their squad for the second half of the season, so we’ll keep you up-to-date with all the latest news, gossip and rumours. Today, Gooner Mac on how Arsenal edging closer to Julian Draxler.

Arsenal have provisionally agreed a €43.5m (£36m) deal with Schalke for Julian Draxler that could see Lukasz Fabianski make the move in the opposite direction with Arsene Wenger looking to add two new faces this month, according to the Telegraph.

Reports earlier this week suggested that Arsenal had sent out a delegation to Germany to try and thrash out a deal for the highly-rated 20-year-old and it appears we’re now on the verge of doing so.

The Telegraph claim that after positive talks on Wednesday night, a €43.5m (£36m) deal has been provisionally agreed with Schalke that could see goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski join the Bundesliga outfit on loan until the end of the season, and the only thing left to do is work out the ‘finer details’ such as how much we’ll pay up front.

The newspaper also suggests that personal terms won’t be an issue as we’ll offer Draxler a pay rise from £50,000-a-week to £80,000 and sign him to a long-term contract.

Draxler has been out injured for the last two months and it seems his fitness is key to whether a deal can be done this month or we wait until the summer, and there was positive news following a meeting with Dr Hans-Wilhelm-Muller (the same man who conducted Mesut Ozil’s medical) yesterday as the doctor confirmed the attacker could return to training next week.

It’s now a race against time whether the move can be pushed through before Friday nights deadline but the newspaper suggests that there could be another addition to the squad with Wenger poised to make a bid to land Barcelona’s Cristian Tello on loan.

The 22-year-old has been used sparingly at the Nou Camp this season and his injection of pace and goal-threat from the wing would be the ideal replacement for Theo Walcott – who’s out for the season with a knee injury – but it’s unclear whether the Catalans will be prepared to let him leave on a short-term basis.

If we could add Draxler and Tello to the squad before the window slams shut I think we’ll all be very happy Gooners, but it’s going to be extremely tight. I personally don’t think we’ll land Tello, but Draxler looks doable if we really want it to happen.

READ: Striker set for Arsenal medical

If neither deal can be done, then let’s hope Wenger has a back-up plan because we need reinforcements for the seasons half of the season.

Who do you think Arsenal will sign? Share your views below.