Arsenal have negotiated a deal potentially worth over £800,000 for Evan Mooney of St. Mirren, with the player at the Emirates on Monday to complete the move.
Early on Monday, Robert Grieve reported for The Scottish S*n that St. Mirren 18-year-old Evan Mooney could be on the way to Arsenal, with talks advancing over a January transfer.
Now, Simon Collings is reporting the player is at the club to complete the deal with The Athletic also confirming this and the fee.
Arsenal were initially weighing up a £265,000 bid, but St. Mirren negotiated the fee up to over £400,000.
The Gunners are also offering the same again in add-ons, potentially bringing the deal to over £800,000 overall.
Grieve wrote that St. Mirren would also likely insist on a sell-on clause as well, adding that informal talks have already taken place and a deal looks likely.
The Gunners will to add Mooney to their u21 team at first.
St. Mirren Mercury editor David Irvine also reported that Arsenal have indeed held talks with St. Mirren over Mooney, noting that the player wasn’t involved in Saturday’s matchday squad.
Given Mooney had made the squad for St. Mirren’s previous 13 Scottish Premiership matches, it’s notable that he dropped out just before deadline day.
The teenager has made 18 appearances for St. Mirren’s senior side this season, though just three of them were starts. He scored two goals in those starts, and he made an appearance as a substitute in the Scottish League Cup final win over Celtic in December.
Mooney plays as a centre-forward or a right-winger for St. Mirren.
Reports early on deadline day suggested Arsenal were also in talks with Hearts for 18-year-old striker Wilson. This seems to have been another case of Andrea Berta lining up a couple of transfer deals before pulling the trigger on one of them with Wilson ultimately opting for Spurs.