According to Alfredo Pedulla, two things need to happen for Arsenal to complete a deal for Daniele Rugani and both of them involve it being a loan.

Arsenal have reportedly agreed terms with Rugani, offering to pay him over €4m-a-season, which the player is said to be happy to accept.

Now we come to the problems.

Arsenal, as you know, want Rugani on loan because they can’t afford to pay the €40m that Juventus want for him. Juventus aren’t that keen on a loan and need to be convinced by Arsenal’s offer. That will most likely need to include an obligatory purchase option.

The next problem is the player.

While he might be happy to accept €4m-a-season he also needs to accept that, if it’s a loan deal without obligatory purchase, his future will become uncertain again, perhaps as early as next summer.

Of course, as with anything at this time of the year, it’s hard to know what’s real and what’s not. Arsenal have made that even harder this summer by acting in ways we’re just not used to at all.

The good news, however, is we will have definitive answers on all our questions about incomings by 5pm on Thursday.