Double Arsenal move coming, with exiting star undergoing medical and €20m bid made for replacement

Arsenal are primed to offload Aaron Ramsdale to Southampton and the full details in his permanent switch have emerged, while Ramsdale’s replacement is set to come from Spain.

Ramsdale fell behind David Raya in the pecking order last term and made no secret of his dissatisfaction with the demotion. Indeed, the 26-year-old previously insisted ‘never again’ when referring to warming the bench in the 2023/24 season.

He told talkSPORT: “I’ve had a tough year personally, not playing, and I never want to do that again.”

The writing was on the wall for Ramsdale’s future at the Emirates once Arsenal triggered the £27m option to sign Raya outright.

Ramsdale courted interest from the likes Ajax and Wolves, though both clubs sought to sign the stopper via the loan route.

Arsenal favoured a permanent exit and with less than 36 hours remaining before Friday night’s 11pm transfer deadline, their patience has paid off.

Southampton have agreed to sign Ramsdale in a permanent transfer that could be worth £25m if add-ons are met.

According to the Athletic, the initial fee is £18m. The add-ons are two-pronged, with £1m to make its way to Arsenal if Southampton avoid relegation in the 2024/25 campaign.

The remaining £6m in add-ons are based on ‘incentives’ per the report.

A four-year deal with an option for a fifth season has been ironed out between Southampton and the five-cap England international.

Ramsdale is currently undergoing a medical as of 10am on Thursday morning and barring any late hitches, will complete his move to the south coast later today.

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Arsenal move for Joan Garcia

The Gunners fully intend to sign a replacement for Ramsdale and an agreement on personal terms is already in place with 23-year-old Joan Garcia of Espanyol.

According to Fabrizio Romano, Arsenal have lodged a €20m bid to sign Garcia on Thursday morning. Espanyol are pointing Arsenal to the player’s €30m release clause, though there is confidence a deal will get done.

Garcia is highly regarded in Spain and was among the country’s goalkeeping contingent during the Paris Olympics where Spain won gold.

Garcia is expected to be installed as Raya’s back-up once signed, meaning he’ll be the man Mikel Arteta turns to if Raya suffers an injury and potentially in the domestic cups too.

But while Garcia is highly thought of, he is remarkably inexperienced for a player aged 23.

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Indeed, Garcia has just six LaLiga appearances to his name and only a further eight in the Copa del Rey.

He did rack up 14 league starts last season, though they came in the Segunda Division as Espanyol achieved promotion back to LaLiga at the first time of asking.

But despite Garcia’s relative lack of experience at the top level, Arteta and sporting director Edu have rarely made a misstep in the market over recent years.

The hope will be Garcia becomes the latest in a long line of transfer masterstrokes.

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