Elneny deal done "within 24 hours"

Today, ESPNFC.com is reporting that Mohamed Elneny is in London to finalize his deal, which should be announced sometime in the next 24 hours or so. The fee is reportedly in the £7 million range, and the holdup was in the granting of a work permit apparently. He's turned his head and coughed for Arsenal's medical staff, and almost every I has been crossed and T dotted, or something, so now all we are waiting for is the thumbs up from the good folks at the UK Border Agency and the Office of Immigration Services.

It's amazing how long these things can take - this rumor first started happening in late December, and nobody's denied it since. Even in this technological marvel of a day and age, paperwork runs at its own pace; fortunately, that run is almost over in this case, and Elneny may be in the squad at the weekend at this rate.