Sokratis Papastathopoulos is set for his Arsenal medical this week, ahead of a £15m transfer from Borussia Dortmund, according to reports in Germany.
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In one of the longest-running transfer sagas of the summer so far, Sokratis is still closing in on an Arsenal move that never seems to actually arrive.
German outlet Kicker are now claiming the defender is scheduled to travel to London this week for his medical, and to finalise the move. They write that the player has agreed a contract lasting until 2021, with a fee of around €17m (£15m) agreed between the two clubs. However, they also write that the final details still need to be ironed out.
This isn’t the first time we’ve been teased with information that the Sokratis deal was almost done. We’ve had plenty of reports in the past week that the deal is ‘almost complete‘ or that the medical is ‘planned‘. Hopefully this time the rumours are correct, so we can all move on to the next deal.
Sven Mislintat is reportedly behind this move, after bringing former Dortmund stars Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Henrikh Mkhitaryan to the club in January. With any luck, the defender fits in as well as those two have so far.
Click ‘Next’ to see our scouting report and clips of the player in action
Scouting Report
Let’s start off with the basics.
Sokratis is 29 years old (30 in June), and plays for Greece and Borussia Dortmund, joining the Bundesliga club in 2013. He now has one year left on his contract.
He stands at 6’1″, and plays centre-back for club and country.
Last season, he made 43 appearances for Dortmund, scoring three goals. Transfermarkt value him at around €22m, so Arsenal are getting a good deal if the rumours on price are true.
According to those who watch him, Sokratis should have no trouble fitting into the intense, attacking football philosophy that Arsenal play, as that’s what he’s already used to at Dortmund.
Last year, a Dortmund fan analysed the defender’s step up after Mats Hummels left for Bayern Munich. He noted that the defender made the second most tackles per game in the league, as well as being right up there for blocks. Since that article, Sokratis has actually increased his tackling numbers, so it’s fair to say he’s not afraid to get stuck in.
His passing is also very strong, and he’s strong in the air, but does tend to commit fouls often.
This season, Dortmund have had a much tougher campaign, and Sokratis has struggled with a dip in form as much as the rest of the team. Only Hoffenheim and RB Leipzig conceded more goals from the top eight teams.
Hopefully that’s only temporary, and more to do with the team than Sokratis himself. We’ll have to wait and see to find out, and trust that Sven Mislintat and the Arsenal scouts know what they’re doing.
To see the defender in action, check out the video below (skip to 0:50 to avoid all the adverts and build up):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YFF794TbWdU