Arsenal are closing in on finalising a move for Leicester winger Riyad Mahrez, while Alexandre Lacazette has completed his medical.
That’s according to recent reports published in the Daily Star, who have claimed that the Gunners are set to make two significant summer acquisitions within days.
Mahrez signed a new Leicester deal last season, but has stressed his eagerness for a step-up in quality and was angling for a move last term before being given assurances over them granting him his wish to leave at a later date.
Tancredi Palmeri, heralded as a ‘transfer guru’, has said that Arsenal are close to finalising a deal to sign Mahrez. He writes for Italian newspaper Gazetta dello Sport and wrote the following on Twitter:
Arsenal vicino a Mahrez. Già l'anno scorso era stato a un passo.
— Tancredi Palmeri (@tancredipalmeri) July 4, 2017
It loosely translates to, “Arsenal [are] near Mahrez. Last year was just a step.”
Mahrez played a pivotal role in Leicester’s unlikely Premier League triumph back during the 2015/16 campaign. However, the £25m-rated Algerian has struggled for consistency since and could link up alongside Alexandre Lacazette at the Emirates in the forthcoming campaign.
Lacazette underwent a medical yesterday and has since completed it with no complications, according to reports. Paperwork is still to be finalised, though the deal will be a club-record move for the Lyon forward, which is said to rise up to £52m after add-ons.