Arsenal have successfully reached an agreement with Southampton for the transfer of Ainsley Maitland-Niles.
According to an exclusive report from Fabrizio Romano, the Gunners have finally reached a conclusion on terms for the 25-year-old.
Maitland-Niles will join the fellow Premier League side on a season-long loan and most importantly, there will be a option to purchase the player.
Excl: Southampton are closing in on Ainsley Maitland-Niles deal. It’s set to be completed on loan with buy option as Arsenal contract will be extended. 🚨⚪️🔴 #SaintsFC
Talks ongoing on player side, then medical soon to get the deal done. pic.twitter.com/GxbAXKYwUy
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) August 31, 2022
Before all of this goes through, Arsenal will trigger the option to extend Maitland-Niles’ contract by a further year, meaning he is technically an Arsenal player until 2024.
We await to hear what the transfer fee will be should Southampton take up the option to sign the player permanently, but we can now say this deal is in the final stages.
Talks will now move to player negotiations and provided the midfielder can find an agreement with Ralph Hassenhuttl’s side, it will go through by the closing of the window.
All of this means that Maitland-Niles will be registered as a Southampton player in time for their next fixture away to Wolves on Saturday 3rd September.