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Deal ‘imminent’ after Arsenal table £34m bid – report

By on May 13, 2016

Here’s another update on Granit Xhaka with German outlet PR Online reporting that a deal is now ‘imminent’ after Arsenal submitted an offer worth in the region of £34m for the Borussia Mönchengladbach midfielder.

Xhaka has been strongly linked with a move to the Emirates in recent weeks as Arsene Wenger looks to strengthen his squad after a disappointing campaign and the midfielder did little to play down the speculation after admitted he could play his final game for Gladbach this weekend.

The Evening Standard reported earlier this week that the 23-year-old had a buyout clause worth just shy of £20m written in to his contract but it doesn’t become active until 2017 so Wenger has accepted that he’s got to pay over the odds to bring him to North London this summer.

The newspaper suggested that Arsenal were confident of getting a deal agreed over the coming weeks but it looks like it could be done much sooner than that as German outlet PR Online claim that an agreement to sign Xhaka is ‘imminent’ after we tabled a formal offer worth just under £34m – which includes various add ons.

The report goes on to claim that Gladbach have already lined-up Bayern Munich midfielder Sebastian Rode as a replacement, and the 25-year-old should be free to leave the Allianz Arena following the signing of Renato Sanches.

So, everything is pointing to Xhaka becoming our first major signing of the summer and it appears a deal should be wrapped-up over the coming days.

It looks like Arsene stepped-up his interest once Champions League qualification was secured last weekend and I expect an announcement will be made shortly after the season finishes on Sunday.

With Arteta and Flamini leaving next month, we need another central midfielder and Xhaka has been outstanding for Gladbach in recent years. He’s known for his superb passing skills and from what I’ve seen of him, he has a beautiful left foot and he likes to spray passes around the pitch. Petit-esque you might say.

I think he’ll turn out to be an excellent signing but let’s not get too ahead of ourselves. We need to wait for the deal to be finalised and we know how Arsenal like to drag these things out!

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