Frosinone are close to signing Joel Campbell from Arsenal, after Lucas Perez turned them down to join West Ham United, according to reports.

Di Marzio, who have had a fantastic record for transfer stories in the current window, claim Frosinone are now a shock leading contender for the signature of Campbell. They began negotiations last night, and could well reach a final agreement in the coming hours.

Frosinone previously tried to bring in Perez, but it was clear from the forward’s agent’s comments that the Spaniard preferred to remain in London and the Premier League. The Serie A side are now taking advantage of the connections they built up with Arsenal during that negotiation, to move for another out-of-favour forward at the club instead.

Unai Emery confirmed last week that Campbell was one of three players ‘with the possibility to leave’ this summer. The other two were Carl Jenkinson, who doesn’t seem close to a move at this stage, and David Ospina, who has been heavily linked with a transfer to Besiktas.

The sooner the better, in terms of wrapping up the sale. Arsenal won’t want negotiations to drag on and break down, leaving Campbell stuck for the next few months, and that’ll be far from the player’s preferred option as well.