Arsenal FC transfer news: Gunners set to sign Sokratis Papastathopoulos for £17.5m
Arsenal are set to complete their first signing of the post-Arsene Wenger era with Sokratis Papastathopoulos closing in on a move to the Emirates.
According to in Germany, Sokratis will join the Gunners for around £17.5m (20m) on a contract that runs until the end of the 2019/20 season.
Sokratis, the Greece international centre-back, currently represents Borussia Dortmund and he made 30 Bundesliga appearances this season. Arsenals head of recruitment Sven Mislintat, hired in November, used to work for BVB and was at the Westfalenstadion when Sokratis arrived from Werder Bremen in 2013.
A poor season defensively for Arsenal was made even worse when Laurent Koscielny picked up an injury towards the end of the campaign that could keep him out until December. Fellow first-choice centre-back Shkodran Mustafi has been one of the Gunners worst performers in 2017/18.
Sven Mislintat worked for Dortmund when Sokratis was signed by the club
Reports in April claimed Arsenals new manager - Mikel Arteta is apparently close to being appointed - would be restricted to a £50m transfer budget this summer, with the signing of Sokratis set to lower the available funds to around £32.5m.