Arsenal allow club to complete ‘super bargain’ as terms of ‘free’ signing leaked

Hamburg reportedly believe they may have completed a ‘super bargain’ in the summer transfer window after signing Fabio Vieira and Albert Sambi Lokonga from Arsenal, as well as Luka Vuskovic from Tottenham Hotspur.

Lokonga joined Hamburg from Arsenal in a permanent transfer on deadline day and was quickly followed by Vieira, who signed for the Bundesliga club on an initial loan that includes an option to buy. Promising Tottenham defender Vuskovic, meanwhile, will continue his development at Hamburg via a season-long loan.

After gaining promotion from the German second tier last season, Hamburg are hopeful that the signings of players from the Premier League can help them stay in the Bundesliga.

German outlet Bild have now looked at the captures of Vieira and Lokonga, and the terms involved.

They claim that an ‘interesting agreement’ was struck between Arsenal and Hamburg for Portuguese playmaker Vieira.

Hamburg will supposedly pay no loan fee for Vieira if he plays the majority of their games this season.

Although, Arsenal could still make decent money back on the attacking midfielder. Hamburg’s option to buy him is understood to be worth €20million (£17m).

Arsenal originally paid Porto €40m (then £34m) to sign Vieira in July 2022. However, he did not have the desired impact in north London and had a loan spell back at Porto before joining Hamburg earlier this week.

The report adds that Hamburg only paid a ‘small sum’ to capture Lokonga permanently, thought to be just €300k (£260k) plus bonuses.

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Fabio Vieira, Albert Sambi Lokonga link up at Hamburg

Arsenal took a significant hit when selling Lokonga, having paid Anderlecht around £17m for him in summer 2021. Like Vieira, Lokonga failed to make a big impact at the Emirates.

The Belgian midfielder was forced to go out on loan to Crystal Palace, Luton Town and Sevilla in a bid to get game time.

He had entered the final year of his Arsenal contract, which is why sporting director Andrea Berta sanctioned such a cheap deal.

Hamburg will be hoping Vieira and Lokonga will thrive away from Arsenal. The pair are only 25 years old, so they have plenty of time to get their careers back on track.

Jakub Kiwior, Oleksandr Zinchenko, Nuno Tavares, Reiss Nelson and Takehiro Tomiyasu are just some of the other players Berta offloaded in the summer to trim down Mikel Arteta’s squad. These departures helped to make room for eight new signings, including the arrivals of Eberechi Eze, Viktor Gyokeres and Martin Zubimendi.

Arsenal news: Berta impresses; Brazilian target

Meanwhile, a ‘top-class’ signing from Berta has left the Arsenal hierarchy ‘absolutely delighted’, as per one journalist.

Separate reports claim Arsenal have already locked onto a Brazilian defender as a January target.

Why Arsenal performed a U-turn over selling Gabriel Martinelli in the summer has also emerged.

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