Arsenal are set to sign Egyptian midfielder Mohamed Elneny from FC Basel for an initial fee of around £5million. A medical is reportedly going to take place on Tuesday.
Elneny is just 23, but has already been capped 39 times for his country. He joined Basel in 2013 and has played 91 games since.
With Basel not qualifying for the Champions League, Elneny will, crucially be eligible to play for the Gunners in the competition – unlike many alternative targets.
Jack Wilshere being out until at least February has been listed as one of the reasons for Arsenal looking to sign another central midfielder. With Francis Coquelin and Santi Cazorla out in the long term, there is significant stress on midfield duo Aaron Ramsey and Mathieu Flamini to perform every game – something they couldn’t do against Southampton on Saturday night.
The BBC report that Arsenal do not see Elneny as a stop gap, but in fact a long-term solution in midfield.
We can’t find in-depth statistics on his performance in the Swiss league, but we can draw some conclusions from his five Europa League games this season, as to what type of player he is. His 92.4% pass success rate is re-assuring, as is his 2.5 tackles per game. WhoScored have awarded him an impressive average rating of 7.70 in the European competition.
A deal could be completed as early as Wednesday, so stay tuned to fresharsenal.com for pictures and all the other malarky that comes around with a new signing.
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