Telegraph: Granit Xhaka will sign with Arsenal

According to the Telegraph's Jeremy Wilson, Arsenal and Borussia Monchengladbach have agreed a deal for midfielder Granit Xhaka, and the player is on the way to London to complete the deal. His medical exam and personal terms are expected to be merely a formality, with all parties eager to complete the deal quickly.

There was a report yesterday that Arsenal's first official bid had come up short, and Wilson corroborates that:

Arsenal had initially bid close to £20 million for the Switzerland midfielder but, with Monchengladbach hoping to get more than £30 million, an agreement was eventually reached on a deal understood to be worth an initial £25 million but rising potentially to £30 million.

If those numbers are correct (and who knows whether or not they are – RP says it's over €40 million, which would be a bit higher than reported in the Telegraph) that's an absolute steal. Considering a £31 million bid for Alexandre Lacazette was supposedly rejected earlier this week, only paying £30 million for a proven international and Really Good Player is amazing business.

Anyway, it appears that Artan Muhaxhiri may have been correct after all! According to Wilson, Xhaka should arrive in London today, and the contract (likely four or five years) is expected to be finalized over the weekend, with the deal announced early next week.

This isn't an Ornacle appearance, but it's about as close as you can get before hitting that threshold. I know, I know, "not until it's on the official website," but for the first time in this mini-saga I feel like it's okay for y'all to get excited. Barring a late disaster (which, obviously, could happen) it looks like this one may actually happen.