(Reuters) - Spanish team Valencia have agreed to sign French midfielder Francis Coquelin from Arsenal, the clubs confirmed on Thursday.
Valencia agreed a deal worth 12 million pounds for Coquelin, according to British media reports. The La Liga club confirmed he will sign a contract until June 2022, with a buyout clause of 80 million euros (70.81 million pounds).
"I am very happy, it is a big challenge, it is the start of a new life for me, therefore I am very excited about it," Coquelin said in a statement.
"I have seen the team, they are going along very well, they are third in the table. I have watched their recent games, since I knew that the negotiations between the two clubs were picking up, such as the Copa del Rey game versus Las Palmas. They were very good."
The 26-year-old, who joined the North London club as a youth player in 2008, made 160 appearances for Arsene Wenger's side but struggled to get first-team opportunities this season.
He featured in just seven Premier League matches, coming on as a substitute in six of them.
(Reporting by Aditi Prakash and Hardik Vyas in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford/Keith Weir)
