Mohamed Elneny has confirmed he is on the verge of completing a transfer to Arsenal from FC Basel in the January transfer window.
Reports last week revealed Elneny was on his way to a medical after Arsenal agreed a fee with Basel for the Egypt international midfielder.
And now, it looks like there was plenty of truth in those reports, with Elneny, himself, confirming to Ahram that he underwent a medical at Arsenal on Boxing Day.
While there are no quotes, it does look like the smoke that has built up over the past few days is the result of a fire, with Arsenal reportedly keen to get Elneny on board as soon as the January transfer window opens.
Arsenal have reportedly agreed a fee of around £6.5million for the defensive midfielder, who has impressed this season with Basel.
The Daily Mirror reports the medical is not quite complete yet, even if Arsenal are on the verge of completing the deal. The Gunners will reportedly fly Elneny out to London as soon as all the minor details – and only the minor details remain, apparently – are ironed out.
If Arsenal do complete the transfer for Elneny, it will be an astute move, because at 23, he still has plenty of improving to do. That fact that Elneny is not a big name will also help in the fact that there will be no demand to be an automatic name in the starting lineup, particularly when Francis Coquelin, who has been outstanding for Arsenal in the middle, returns in February.
However, the dearth of options for Arsene Wenger in defensive midfield was clear in the 2-0 win over Bournemouth on Monday, with Calum Chambers playing in the position after the Arsenal manager decided not to risk Mathieu Flamini owing to a slight ankle problem.
"I'm enjoying it," Chambers said of playing in midfield. "The past couple of weeks I have been training in midfield and I have been getting more confidence and I felt good and it was a great result and a great game."
While Chambers looked comfortable in the position, it is quite obvious Arsenal need to strengthen that department, and Elneny's signing will be a welcome one.
