Crystal Palace star Eberechi Eze once their £63 million transfer for Sporting CP striker Viktor Gyokeres is wrapped up.
Following extended talks, the Gunners have reached an agreement to sign Gyokeres for €63.5 million (£54.8 million) upfront, with an additional €10 million (£8.6 million) in performance-related bonuses.
Gyokeres arrived in London on Friday and is expected to complete his medical over the weekend before officially joining Mikel Arteta’s squad.
Arteta hopes the Swedish forward will soon link up with the rest of the Arsenal team, who are currently in Singapore for their pre-season campaign.
As reported by The Independent, Eze has identified Arsenal as his preferred destination this summer, and those close to the England international believe a deal with Palace is likely before the transfer window closes.
The same report notes that Arsenal are aiming to negotiate a £60 million fee, which falls short of Eze’s £68 million release clause.
In other news, Noni Madueke has chosen to end his vacation early after finalizing a £52 million switch from Chelsea earlier this month.
The 23-year-old featured five times for Chelsea during the Club World Cup before making the decision to join Arsenal on the weekend of the final, where Enzo Maresca’s team defeated Paris Saint-Germain.
‘Obviously once we have finalised everything with a player we want to integrate him with the team as quickly as possible,’ Arteta said on Friday.
‘With Noni it was impossible because he needed some time.
‘I think he’s going to take a shorter vacation than he deserves because he wants to joins us straightaway, as soon as we’re back.
‘I think immediately is better so they can start to join the team, get to know each other and get the ideas we want to put in their minds.’
