It is no secret that Arsenal are in the market for a goalkeeper after Petr Cech had a very disappointing season.
The search has led to a player to replace the veteran in the form of German keeper Bernd Leno. BBC Journalist David Ornstein has all but confirmed the deal. He said:
Fee agreed between Arsenal & Bayer Leverkusen – Leno still needs to undergo a medical before #AFC can complete the signing, for a reported €22m (£19.2m)
— David Ornstein (@David_Ornstein) June 19, 2018
“Fee agreed between Arsenal & Bayer Leverkusen – Leno still needs to undergo a medical before #AFC can complete the signing, for a reported €22m (£19.2m)”
This is a continuation of what Ornstein had said a few days ago regarding Leno. All this is very encouraging news for Arsenal fans who have been wanting a new number 1 for some time now.
It helps that the North London club are acting much quicker than they usually do and the sooner the deal is announced, the better it will be. Leno will join the Gunners from German side Bayer Leverkusen where he has been the first choice keeper for many seasons.
When the signing of the German is made official, one of Petr Cech or David Ospina are expected to leave the club. This is understandable as both would not like to be understudies to Leno and would rather seek first team football elsewhere.
The fact that Leno did not make the World Cup squad has made the whole process much easier. If he was at Russia, there would have been a few logistical complications as has happened in the deal to sign Lucas Torreira.
Once the fee and personal terms have been agreed, the medical should not take much time and as a result of this, the signing will be officially confirmed very soon.
When the deal is done, Leno will become the second confirmed signing this summer after the capture of Swiss full-back Stephan Lichtsteiner from Juventus.
It is clear that new manager Unai Emery is trying to restructure the team to suit his vision and these signings are a step in that direction. For the price that he is coming at, Leno is great value for money and Arsenal fans will be itching to see him on the Emirates pitch very soon.
