Arsenal are expected to complete the signing of Manchester City forward Gabriel Jesus in a £45 million to £50 million deal. The Gunners are confident of landing their number one target in the next seven to ten days.
The exclusive report came from Mike Keegan of the Daily Mail, who states that Arsenal are nearing an agreement for the signature of the 25-year-old Brazilian from the Etihad. He is set to be the Gunners' second signing of the summer after securing a deal for midfielder Fabio Vieira from FC Porto.
After signing Jesus in 2016/2017 for £27 million, the Citizens could near double that 5 years later despite the forward only having one more year left on his current contract. Having featured in 41 games for the Blues last season, and scoring big goals against PSG and Liverpool, Jesus is looking to move on in the hope of impressing the Brazil national coach with the Qatar World Cup not far away.
Jesus has shown glimpses of world-class ability during his time at City, averaging a goal or an assist every 106 minutes, which is an incredible record when compared to the great Sergio Aguero's 85 minutes per goal contribution.
Despite this, however, he has always played second fiddle to the Argentinian and, at some points, Guardiola has even preferred to play a false 9. Jesus will be the Gunners' main man up top next season, which is a huge reason for the Brazilian to leave for the North London club.
Last season, Jesus was used as a wide player and played to a great standard, but reports suggested that another reason for the forward to leave is that he prefers a more central role as an out-and-out striker, which is exactly what the Gunners are looking for.
Mikel Arteta had worked with Jesus when he was Guardiola's assistant at City and is eagerly looking forward to working with him again at the Emirates.
Fabrizio Romano has also reported that City and Arsenal have agreed a deal for the forward but has said the guaranteed fee is £45 million. He states that Arsenal are now pushing to complete final terms with Jesus and his team, with the transfer looking all but done. David Ornstein of The Athletic, amongst others, has also reported a £45 million fee.
With the incoming of Erling Haaland, Jesus' time at City looks to be coming to an end, and he has been a great servant to the club and a cult hero in some ways after his goal secured City's 100 points in 17/18, a Premier League record.
His performances against Real Madrid in the Champions League were nothing short of outstanding, and also being only one of three City players to bag a Champions League hat-trick, with the Brazilian achieving this feat twice (Shakhtar Donetsk and Dinamo Zagreb).
Elsewhere, Romano and The Secret Scout have revealed that Academy winger Samuel Edozie is set for a permanent transfer to Bayer Leverkusen on a contract until 2024, with the deal to be completed soon.
The transfer fee is currently unknown – but the 19-year-old only has a year to run on his City contract, which suggests the amount will be at a maximum in the single-digit millions ballpark.
Written by: @MCFCNavii
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