David Ornstein: Player ‘undergoing medical’ with Arsenal after £16m deal is agreed

Takehiro Tomiyasu is currently undergoing his medical with Arsenal after an initial £16m deal was agreed with Bologna to sign the versatile defender, according to The Athletic.

Mikel Arteta has been working hard to overhaul his squad this summer and has spent over £130m to bring in Aaron Ramsdale, Martin Odegaard, Ben White, Albert Sambi Lokonga and Nuno Tavares.

Arsenal were also tipped to sign a new right-back this summer after Hector Bellerin fell out-of-favour last season but it looked as though Arteta could be left disappointed as deadline day arrived with no new right-back added to the squad.

However, news broke earlier today via The Athletic that claimed Arsenal had opened talks with Bologna over a deal to sign Tomiyasu after making a late move to land the Japanese international.

Arsenal and Tottenham had been linked with the 22-year-old earlier in the summer but with Spurs now closing-in on a deal for Barcelona right-back Emerson Royal, the Gunners were clear to step-up their interest in Tomiyasu.

Negotiations have gone smoothly as The Athletic journalist David Ornstein now says Tomiyasu is currently undergoing his medical in Italy after Arsenal agreed a deal worth an initial £16m plus add ons with Bolonga.

Ornstein claims that Tomiyasu is set to sign a four-year contract at the Emirates Stadium but the deal hinges on Arsenal being able to successfully offload at least one player before tonight’s 11pm deadline.

The most likely candidate is Bellerin and The Athletic says an agreement has been reached with Real Betis to send the Spaniard on loan. Bellerin is undergoing a medical in London before flying to Spain to complete the move.

Ainsley Maitland-Niles has also indicated he wants to leave Arsenal amid interest from Everton but Arsenal have rejected their loan request. The report says Maitland-Niles will meet Arteta today to try and push through a move to Goodison Park.

So unless there are last minute complications, at least one of Bellerin or Maitland-Niles are expected to secure moves away from the Emirates today which will make room for the arrival of Tomiyasu from Bologna.

The Japan star has developed into one of the most highly-rated defenders in Italian football since joining Bologna from Sint-Truiden two years ago and he was hugely impressive during his 31 appearances in Serie A last season.

Tomiyasu is comfortable playing at right-back or central defence so his versatility will be seen as a useful asset by Arteta but he’s expected to be mainly deployed on the right side of Arsenal’s back four.

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He’s known for his excellent defensive attributes so he should be a solid addition to Arteta’s squad if this proposed deal gets over the line before tonight’s 11pm deadline.