Arsenal have finalized a deal with Aston Villa to acquire defender Ezri Konsa, with a medical examination due to be conducted shortly.
The England defender will soon complete his medical checks after the north London club agreed a fee believed to be approximately £50million plus additional add-ons.
Despite being a lifelong Tottenham supporter, Konsa pushed strongly for the transfer following an extended period away from football after the World Cup tournament.
The 28-year-old is not anticipated to complete registration before Thursday’s midday deadline, meaning he will not be available for Arsenal’s Premier League curtain-raiser against Coventry City on Friday. His fitness also requires further work regardless, having been given a full month off by Unai Emery.
Should he pass his medical examination, Konsa could potentially make his first appearance for his new club at Villa Park, where he spent seven years, on August 31.
Mikel Arteta had identified the centre-back as his primary defensive objective and was determined to bring him to the Emirates Stadium despite exploring other options at the position such as Jarell Quansah, Cristian Romero and free agent John Stones.
Konsa, who can also operate at right-back, is considered a ready-made addition similar to Bruno Guimaraes, providing valuable cover while William Saliba recovers from a persistent back problem.
Arsenal initially submitted a £30million offer earlier in the summer which was turned down outright. They returned with an improved proposal of £40million last week, though Villa remained insistent on their £60million valuation until Konsa made his intentions clear that he was eager to return to the capital, where he previously represented Brentford and Charlton Athletic.
The player had two years remaining on his current contract at Villa.
Konsa is on track to become Arsenal’s fifth summer acquisition following the permanent signing of Piero Hincapie, plus the arrivals of Illan Meslier, Christos Tzolis and Guimaraes, taking the club’s total summer expenditure to roughly £194.5million.
He also represents another significant departure from Villa after Youri Tielemans, Morgan Rogers and Lucas Digne, with Ollie Watkins and Emi Martinez also potentially facing uncertain times at the club.
Another consideration for Arsenal was Konsa’s homegrown status. Registering eight homegrown players allows clubs to officially submit a 25-man Premier League squad.
Winger Gabriel Martinelli currently qualifies as homegrown but may still leave before the transfer window closes. If Arsenal can only list seven senior homegrown players, they would be restricted to a 24-man squad, though this is less critical given that players under 21 do not need to be included in the main squad registration.