Cristhian Mosquera is set to undergo his medical at Arsenal this week after the North London club reached an agreement with Valencia over a deal for the defender.
The Gunners are looking to add a young centre-back to Mikel Arteta’s ranks this summer after releasing Takehiro Tomiyasu.
Andrea Berta made a move for Dean Huijsen back in May, but the Spain international opted to join Real Madrid instead.
Looking elsewhere, Mosquera emerged as Arsenal’s priority defensive target, and a deal now appears to be on the verge of completion, with Berta negotiating a fee worth in the region of £17 million for the player.
Cristhian Mosquera to undergo Arsenal medical this week after £17m deal agreed
Arsenal lacked genuine cover and competition for William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes last season.
The duo were forced to play almost every single minute until Gabriel sustained a serious hamstring injury, and the Gunners were eager to rectify this issue heading into the summer window.
They look set to do this, with Fabrizio Romano revealing that Mosquera is closing in on a move to the Emirates.
Arsenal will pay less than €20 million (£17 million) in total for Mosquera, with the initial fee expected to be worth around €15 million (£13 million).
Formalities and paperwork will now be completed to formalise the deal, while the 21-year-old will head to London this week to undergo a medical and carry out media duties before an announcement.
Arsenal fly to Singapore on Saturday for their pre-season tour, and will hope that Mosquera is on the plane with the rest of Arteta’s squad.
When will Arsenal announce the signing of Cristhian Mosquera?
Arsenal fans are amazed by Berta’s early work in N5, with Mosquera likely to be one of six signings brought in before the Gunners embark on their trip to Southeast Asia.
Martin Zubimendi, Kepa Arrizabalaga and Christian Norgaard have all been announced as new additions, while deals for Noni Madueke and Viktor Gyokeres are all but complete.
All six players should play a significant role in Arsenal’s pre-season fixtures in the coming weeks, and the North London club will no doubt accelerate the formalities with Mosquera’s deal to ensure the player is in Singapore.
The minor details for the Spanish defender should be completed in the next 24 to 48 hours, while he’s likely to undergo his medical later this week.
Given Arsenal are supposedly set to fly out on Saturday night, an announcement can be expected for Mosquera at any time before they jet off, likely on Friday or Saturday itself, with deals for Gyokeres and Madueke expected to be made public first.
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