Arsenal are in advanced negotiations to complete one of their priority targets after recently walking away from a deal for Ajax’s Lisandro Martinez.
On Thursday afternoon we learned from the ever so reliable David Ornstein that Arsenal were turning their attention to Oleksandr Zinchenko.
And after less than 24 hours multiple journalists are now reporting that Arsenal are heavily advanced in their negotiations with a deal looking very likely.
The news first broke from an exclusive story in the Daily Mail by James Gaughan who is top tier for information when it comes to Manchester City.
Gaughan stated that Arsenal were more than likely about to strike a deal for the 25-year-old, who is expected to cost around about £35m once add-ons are included.
That report has then been followed up by the likes of Charles Watts and Simon Collings, who have both been on the money when it comes to Arsenal transfers in recent seasons.
They both backed up Gaughan’s exclusive by stating that negotiations were at an advanced stage and all parties were working to get the deal done.
City are looking to cash in on the Ukranian who has just two years left on his current contract, with Pep Guardiola setting his sights on Mark Cucurella as an immediate replacement.
Reports suggest that Zinchenko is keen to play as more of a central midfielder and believes that after positive conversations with Arteta, that’s something that can become a reality.
The pair worked together at City not too long ago and it’s suggested that Zinchenko’s name was mentioned when negotiating the recent Gabriel Jesus transfer, letting Arsenal know they had the green light to pursue.
Zinchenko offers Arsenal something they were missing last season, with reliable back-up to Kieran Tierney and a versatile player capable of slotting in at full-back, wing-back or central midfield.
All being well, this should be a fairly straightforward deal to get over the line with everyone on the same page and reluctant to let it drag into more of pre-season.
Arsenal are back in action this Sunday as they take on Everton as the first match of three on their US tour, which will be streamed live from midnight on Arsenal.com.