Napoli are close to signing David Ospina on a permanent basis, with a €4m deal all but agreed for the summer, according to reports in Italy.

CalcioMercato report that they understand Ospina will sign for Napoli on a permanent basis this summer. He’s ‘very much willing to join’ and has already given his approval to the transfer, and Arsenal have been in contact with Napoli over the deal in the last few days.

The fee for the transfer is expected to be just under €4m, in addition to the €1m loan fee Napoli have already paid for this season.

Ospina had a compulsory purchase clause in his loan deal, which would have activated at 25 appearances and made the Colombian a Napoli player for the same fee. However, Carlo Ancelotti recently announced that Ospina will stay at the club ‘regardless’ of whether he hits that appearance target.

€4m isn’t a particularly high price to pay for a goalkeeper nowadays, even if Ospina does only have a year left on his Arsenal deal. However, The Gunners really just need to get him off the wage bill, considering he’s unlikely to become the first-choice shot-stopper in North London next season if he did return.

Ospina’s kept seven clean sheets in 18 games for Napoli this season, with four of those coming in his last four matches for the club.