Arsenal’s third summer signing – a £27m deal for Sampdoria defender Lucas Torreira – is all but confirmed, the Daily Mirror reports.
The Serie A club’s president, Massimo Ferrero, reportedly let slip live on Italian television that the Uruguay international’s departure was happening.
Torreira, 22, joined Sampdoria in 2015 from Pescara for a reported 1.5 million euros (£1.32m).
Ferrero is said to have let the cat out of the bag while discussing how the club uses the transfer market to make handsome sums by developing players – and they do not sell unless they get “excellent offers”.
Torreira would follow Juventus’ Stephan Lichtsteiner and Bayer Leverkusen’s Bernd Leno in moving to the Emirates as part of Unai Emery’s pre-debut overhaul.