Chelsea midfielder Jorginho has reportedly completed his medical with Arsenal ahead of a £12m switch to the Gunners.
The Italy international would have been free to leave the Blues at the end of his contract this summer, and talks over a new deal did not yield a positive solution.
Barcelona and AC Milan were previously linked with a move for Jorginho, with Arsenal initially prioritising a move for Brighton & Hove Albion’s Moises Caicedo.
However, having seen at least two bids for Caicedo turned down by Brighton, Arsenal turned their attention to Jorginho as a cheaper last-minute alternative.
The Gunners are understood to have reached an agreement with Chelsea earlier on deadline day, and according to journalist Fabrizio Romano, Jorginho’s medical is now complete.
Romano stated that Jorginho will sign an 18-month contract with the Premier League leaders until 2024, and Arsenal can trigger a 12-year option to keep him until 2025.
Arsenal will reportedly pay an upfront fee of £10m to sign the Chelsea lynchpin, with a further £2m in performance-related add-ons.
Mikel Arteta has managed to keep his first-choice pairing of Thomas Partey and Granit Xhaka fully fit this term, with the former expected to shake off a rib problem in time for the weekend’s Premier League clash with Everton.
However, Arsenal have now confirmed that Mohamed Elneny has undergone surgery on a “significant” knee injury, which could rule the 30-year-old out for the remainder of the season.
“Following an injury sustained in a recent training session, subsequent assessments have confirmed that Mohamed Elneny has a significant injury to his right knee,” an injury update read.
“Mo has had successful surgery in London and will be ruled out for an extended period of time. A more detailed timescale will be established once the early stages of rehabilitation have been completed.
“Everyone at the club will be offering Mo all the support he needs and working hard with him so he can return to action as soon as possible.”
Despite Elneny’s serious injury, Albert Sambi Lokonga is supposedly on the verge of joining Crystal Palace on loan, leaving Jorginho to compete with Xhaka and Partey for midfield starts in the second half of the campaign.
The 31-year-old has recorded 29 goals and nine assists in 213 games for Chelsea since joining from Napoli in 2018, including three goals from 25 appearances in all competitions this season.
Jorginho has not been a weekly Premier League starter under Graham Potter, but he wore the captain’s armband in the Blues’ recent win over Crystal Palace and goalless draw with Liverpool.
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