Arsenal are likely to announce their first signing of the summer after this years FA Cup final, after they were given encouraging signs over their long pursuit.Â
According to a tweet from the Press Association’s Mark Bryans, the Gunners will announce an extension to Dani Ceballos’ loan deal shortly after their game at Wembley on August 1st.
Mikel Arteta has made no secret of his admiration for the Spaniard, who has had a season of two halves following the departure of former boss, Unai Emery.
At just 23 years of age, Ceballos has become one of the first names on the team sheet since the restart of football, ranking 1st for almost every stat out of Arsenal’s midfield options.
Nothing signed yet but understand Arsenal are becoming increasingly confident of extending the loan of Real Madrid midfielder Dani Ceballos for the 2020/21 season.
Likely to be announced after the FA Cup final – Mikel Arteta made no secret of his admiration for the player. #AFC
— Mark Mann-Bryans (@MarkyMBryans) July 20, 2020
And it’s that level of form that’s sparked a concrete interest in keeping him on loan from parent club Real Madrid, who are happy to let Ceballos have another year in London.
It’s a financial deal that works for both clubs, giving Arsenal another year to stump up the funds for a permanent transfer, rumoured to be around £20million.
With Ceballos’ wages off the books at Madrid for another season, they’ll be happy to let their midfield understudy stay with Arsenal and continue to learn his trade.
Whilst all is not finalised with the deal, Arsenal are growing increasingly confident of getting their man, who they’ve had to heavily rely on following the poor discipline of Matteo Guendouzi.
The Frenchman is being offered out to a whole host of European clubs in the hopes of getting a decent swap deal, saving money in the process given the bargaining chip of having Guendouzi still on a 2-year contract.
This is going to be a very different transfer window for every club, so Arsenal will be delighted to have wrapped up one signing in Ceballos.