Arsenal is close to signing Egyptian international Mohamed Elneny, according to Egyptian soccer news outlet Kingfut.
Elneny is a 23-year old defensive midfielder who currently plays for Swiss outfit FC Basel. He has appeared for his club 144 times and has won the league title in all three seasons in Switzerland.
According to the report, Arsenal and Basel have agreed a £5 million deal that could rise up to £7 million based on performance and appearance clauses.
The player is due to complete a physical on Tuesday, the 29th of December, in Paris and sign a contract the following day in Switzerland. Elneny would be an Arsenal player on January 1st.
Elneny joined Basel on loan in 2013 from El Mokawloon SC before he signed a permanent four-year deal with the Swiss club.
He has played in the Europa League, the Champions League, and has already made 40 appearances for his country.
Elneny looks like a typical Arsene Wenger signing. He is young and has shown consistent improvement over the past three years. His raw talent allows Arsenal to mold the player somewhat and the class of players Elneny would potentially be training with provides him with an excellent opportunity to learn and improve.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k7OIZiku-ho
He comes at a cheap price and in a position where Arsenal needs significant bolstering. With Francis Coquelin and Santi Cazorla out until at least March, Elneny would provide immediate midfield cover.
Besides Coquelin, Mathieu Flamini and Mikel Arteta are the other defensive midfielders at the club. Both players have declined the past two seasons and Arteta has had trouble staying fit. 17-year old Krystian Bielik is considered by many to be a good defensive midfielder in the future, but the young Pole has yet to train regularly with the first team.
Elneny would at the very least provide short-term depth at defensive midfield and at best would be a long-term option along with Coquelin.
