Arsenal are set to announce their second senior signing of the summer tomorrow, according to reports emerging from Germany today.
The report comes from Kicker, who have been pretty accurate with Arsenal news to date. The report says:
‘As expected, Bernd Leno leaves Bayer Leverkusen and joins Arsenal. Atletico Madrid and SSC Napoli are said to have been interested in the German national keeper, but Leno himself had always preferred a move to London. According to our information, he will complete a medical check on Tuesday at Arsenal and then sign a five-year contract.’
26-year-old Leno is expected to arrive on a long-term contract and provide competition for Petr Cech, who is now 36 and possibly in his last season at the club. Should Leno’s move be completed, David Ospina is expected to leave, with several Turkish and Mexican teams interested in his services.
Leno is a keeper who showed a lot of promise as a youngster, but one who has struggled to iron out the mistakes in his game since maturing. Emery and co. must feel there is still potential to be unearthed in Leno, who is a somewhat lively goalkeeper – he could be compared to Woijech Szczesny.
The report also says that Napoli made a late offer of around £16million, but Arsenal’s offer trumps that at around £22million and the Gunners will win this race.
A medical for Leno should be a formality, he did not make the final Germany squad so will be able to complete his medical in London, as well as completing his photoshoot and other media duties.
Arsenal are also expected to finalise deals for Sokratis and Lucas Torreira in the coming weeks. As well as a goalkeeper, the Gunners are also looking at potentially signing a new winger. Personally, the likes of Cristian Pavon and Hirving Lozano have caught my eye at the World Cup, but Gelson Martins is another possibility, especially with the news that he has reportedly cancelled his contract.