Guardian: Mohamed Elneny passes Arsenal medical

According to Ed Aarons in the Guardian, Basel midfielder Mohamed Elneny has passed a medical exam ahead of his proposed January transfer to Arsenal. He still has to be granted a work permit, but that appears to be the only obstacle left standing between the player and joining his new club.

The work permit may be a bit more complicated to obtain than originally believed, though. The permit is basically automatic when a player appears in a minimum percentage of matches for his national team, a qualification which Elneny satisfies. As it turns out, though, that only applies if the national side is ranked in the world's top 50. Egypt is currently 57th. It is, however, expected that Elneny will be granted special dispensation on appeal, as he's appeared in every competitive match for two years running.

The Guardian also says the deal will be for £7.3 million (or €10 million), which is slightly higher than the £5 million I'd seen before. Transfer fees inflate with every report, which is fun.