Arsenal agree Dani Ceballos deal as Emery talks up midfielder’s qualities

Arsenal have reached an agreement to sign Real Madrid midfielder Dani Ceballos, according to reports on Tuesday morning.

According to BBC Sport, the Gunners are on the brink of announcing the capture of the 22-year-old midfielder on a season-long loan at the Emirates, having agreed the finer details of the move with both player and the LaLiga giants.

Ceballos, who has made 56 appearances for Madrid, has also been linked with Tottenham, who are understood to have cooled their interest due to the lack of scope for the move to be made permanent.

It is claimed that Madrid value central midfielder Ceballos at €50m, but have informed his suitors that the player can only leave on loan after his impressive displays for Spain U21s at the recent European Championships prompted a change of heart at the LaLiga giants.

Despite having a bloated squad following an intense summer spending spree, Real are keen to keep Ceballos and believe a loan can help restore his confidence after it took something of a hammering during long phases of inactivity on the Los Blancos bench last season.

However, with a deal now agreed, the Spain Under-21 international will be the Gunners’ second signing of the summer, following the earlier arrival of Gabriel Martinelli.

Unai Emery’s side continue their pre-season tour of the United States with a friendly against Ceballos’ parent club on Wednesday, though it is unclear whether the deal will be done in time or if he will feature.

The transfer will end the transfer frustration of Emery, who has had to play a patient game this summer in a bid to replace the departed Aaron Ramsey, but the capture of Ceballos is sure to delight Arsenal and their supporters.

Emery told the Daily Mirror: “Ceballos is a very good player. I know him from (Real) Betis at the beginning and Real Madrid.

“He played very well in the Under-21s (European Championship), his national team won the competition.”

The Gunners reportedly only have a limited budget of around £45m to spend this summer, but that has not stopped Emery from informing the Arsenal board about the need to bring in “three or four quality signings”.

And it seems the Spaniard is set to get his wish.

Ceballos joined Madrid from Betis for €16m in 2017 but has started just 17 times in La Liga and just twice in the Champions League.

Arsenal, meanwhile, could soon be set to also announce a £36m deal for exciting Brazilian forward Everton Soares; the player dropping a hint he was set to sign after following Martinelli on Instagram.

The Gunners are also believed to nearing the capture of William Saliba, with multiple sources claiming a £26m deal for the St Etienne defender has also been agreed.

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