Arsenal to announce Gabriel Magalhaes transfer after Brazilian passes medical ahead of £27m move
ARSENAL have seen off Everton and Napoli to secure a £27million deal for Lille defender Gabriel Magalhaes.
And the Gunners will recoup most of the fee by selling Ainsley Maitland-Niles to Wolves.
Gabriel, 22, flew to London yesterday and went straight to Arsenal’s London Colney training ground for his medical.
He has now entered a strict 14-day quarantine period to comply with Government restrictions for anyone coming into the country from France.
That means he will not be eligible to play in Saturday’s Community Shield clash with Liverpool at Wembley.
And he cannot even meet his new team-mates until four days before Arsenal’s opening Premier League fixture at Fulham on September 12.
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Gabriel has been training with Lille for the past four weeks so has undergone twice-weekly coronavirus tests.
Yet he was still only allowed to visit London Colney under strict medical supervision.
It is understood he has agreed a five-year contract.
The Toffees and Italians Napoli both matched Lille’s £27m asking price but Gabriel chose the Emirates after chatting with fellow Brazilian Edu, Arsenal’s technical director.
The club can now turn their attention to strengthening the midfield but boss Mikel Arteta has been warned he needs to sell some players first.
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First out is likely to be Maitland-Niles, who is in talks with Wolves over a £20m move.
The versatile midfielder, 22, feels his opportunities will be restricted if he stays put.
Arsenal’s backroom shake-up has continued, with assistant goalkeeping coach Sal Bibbo and football operations manager Ameesh Manek leaving.