Arsenal are confident of completing a loan deal for Real Madrid midfielder Dani Ceballos - and beating Tottenham to a second summer signing.
Gunners boss Unai Emery has targeted Ceballos to join Arsenal on a one-year loan deal to bolster his squad and become a much-needed addition to his midfield.
They have held lengthy talks with Real Madrid as well as Ceballos and his advisers and are now very hopeful of getting a deal over the line.
That would be a major coup as Tottenham have also been in the running for the 22-year-old Spanish midfielder, with manager Mauricio Pochettino a big admirer.
It also comes after Arsenal beat Tottenham to the signing of St Etienne’s teenage defender William Saliba as the 18-year-old centre half is due to undergo a medical and join in a £27m deal.
Arsenal have agreed to loan Saliba back to St Etienne for a season just to get the deal done.
Arsenal’s head of football Raul Sanllehi has flown back to London from the club’s US tour as they step up their attempts to get transfer deals completed with the clock ticking.
They are also in the market for Celtic’s Kieran Tierney but Arsenal only have a £45m budget this summer which is why being able to spread Saliba’s payments and a loan move for Ceballos suits them.
Crystal Palace winger Wilfried Zaha is keen to move to Arsenal but that deal looks increasingly unlikely as they are miles apart on the valuation.
