Arsenal closed in on the signing of Kostas Manolas on Friday as they held fresh talks with his representatives
The Gunners are working on a deal to sign the defender from Olympiakos after opening negotiations with the Greek club last week.
Manolas’ advisers flew into the UK to step up talks about the structure of the deal and to discuss personal terms.
Arsenal have been quoted a fee of £8m by Olympiakos for Manolas although the Greek club could be willing to accept a lower figure if all of the costs are paid up front.
Goal revealed last week that Arsene Wenger had sanctioned a formal move for the Greece international after identifying him as a replacement for Thomas Vermaelen, who joined Barcelona a fortnight ago.
The centre-back, 23, played in the Champions League for his club last season and featured for Greece in this summer’s World Cup.
Wenger wants to push through a deal for a new centre-back to join rookie Calum Chambers in providing cover for established pairing Per Mertesacker and Laurent Koscielny.
The Arsenal boss has competition to sign Manolas, who has attracted interest from Manchester United, Juventus and Napoli.
Written by Steve Milne
