It’s go-go Gunners as deals for Ceballos and Saliba near completion
ARSENAL are on the verge of completing a loan move fo r Re a l Ma d r i d midfielder Dani Ceballos and hope to wrap up a deal fo r S a i n t-E t i e n n e defender William Saliba this week.
The Gunners have only added Brazilian teenager Gabriel Martinelli to their squad so far, but are now close to completing two more deals.
Arsenal are confident of bringing in Ceballos for the coming season following a breakthrough in negotiations last night. The Gunners are playing Real in Washington tonight and, ahead of the match, head coach Unai Emery was full of praise for the 22-year-old.
“We were speaking about the possibility to sign one player on loan and we have different names,” said Emery. “The club was working on that. Ceballos is a very good player. I know him from [Real] Betis at the beginning and also at Real Madrid. He played very well with the [Spanish] Under-21s and he can play as a No8 or a No10.”
Real have agreed to let Ceballos go out on loan for the season as he wants more game time and he is due to fly to London for a medical.
Tottenham had been tracking him but, with their interest cooling, Arsenal have acted swiftly to bolster their squad.
The arrival of Ceballos is likely to be the first of two signings for the Gunners this week, with the club confident of also completing a deal for Saliba.
The 18-year-old is set to join Arsenal in a deal worth around £27million, but he will be loaned back to his French club for the upcoming season.
Emery revealed last week that he wants to make as many as four signings before the transfer window shuts on August 8. Two other players on their radar are Celtic defender Kieran Tierney and Crystal Palace forward Wilfried Zaha although, unlike with Ceballos and Saliba, deals for them are not close.
Both Celtic and Palace are standing firm in their valuations of the players and they have already rejected multiple offers.
Palace’s asking price for Zaha remains £80m and they are reluctant to compromise on it. The Ivory Coast forward is currently on holiday after the Africa Cup of Nations and he would like to leave Selhurst Park this summer, with Arsenal an attractive destination.
But the Gunners have so far struggled to come up with a deal that could tempt Palace to sell. It is thought Arsenal would consider allowing one of their promising young players, such as Reiss Nelson, to move to Selhurst Park on loan.
If Palace are to sell, though, it is believed their preference would be to replace Zaha permanently, rather than take a player on loan and have to replace him all over again in a year’s time.
Arsenal’s transfer budget this summer is around £40m and, as a result, they are attempting to structure deals using instalments, which is causing difficulties in negotiations.