Brighton have accepted an offer worth £50m from Arsenal for Ben White and an official announcement is expected soon, according to reports.
Mikel Arteta has made a new centre-back one of his top transfer priorities this summer, after the exit of David Luiz, White as his number one target.
But Brighton were adamant it would take a huge offer to convince them to sell, having turned down an offer worth £25m from Leeds last summer.
Now The Athletic’s David Ornstein claim that Arsenal have made a breakthrough in talks with Brighton and an agreement has now been reached in principle.
Personal terms will not be an issue and White will undergo a medical before the transfer is completed, which is likely to be next week.
The huge price tag represents the biggest fee Arsenal have ever spent on a defender, while only Aubameyang and Nicolas Pepe will have commanded bigger fees.
While other teams had shown interest in signing White, none have followed up with an offer and there has long been a feeling that he will join the Gunners.
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His displays for Brighton last campaign earned him a place in Gareth Southgate’s England squad, called up to replace Trent Alexander-Arnold, though he did not play any game at Euro 2020.
He is set to be given at least three weeks off before linking up with his new teammates, though could choose to return early given his lack of playing time over the summer and it remains to be seen if he will be involved in Arsenal’s pre-season trip to Florida.
White has already won over one of his new teammates, with Bukayo Saka having been impressed by the player when he saw him in training with England.
‘I was impressed the most by Ben White because obviously I haven’t seen him a lot this season,’ Saka told ITV Sport during Euro 2020.
‘Coming here and playing with him I’ve been impressed with him.’
