Arsenal are close to completing the signing of Valencia defender Cristhian Mosquera in a deal worth an initial £13m plus up to £3.5m in bonuses, taking the club's potential summer spending beyond £200m. The 21-year-old has been identified as the primary target to provide competition for William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhães after establishing himself as a first-choice centre-back for Valencia over the past two seasons.
Negotiations have been ongoing since an initial £14m offer was rejected earlier this month, but an agreement is now understood to have been struck. Mosquera, who represented Spain at this summer's European Under-21 Championship but is also eligible to play for Colombia, could join Mikel Arteta's squad ahead of their Asian tour, which begins with a flight to Singapore on Saturday.
The deal adds to a busy summer for Arsenal, who have already confirmed the arrivals of Martín Zubimendi, Christian Nørgaard, and Kepa Arrizabalaga. They are also poised to announce the signing of Noni Madueke from Chelsea for up to £52m and have agreed a deal with Sporting for striker Viktor Gyökeres, with the total package potentially worth £64m. Interest in Crystal Palace's Eberechi Eze remains, though no official approach has been made.
Arsenal are looking to offload fringe players as Arteta continues to shape his squad. Leandro Trossard is attracting interest from Bayern Munich and Fenerbahce, while Jakub Kiwior, Fábio Vieira, Reiss Nelson, and Oleksandr Zinchenko face uncertain futures.
Elsewhere, Wolves are set to sign Fluminense winger Jhon Arias for about £15m, following the £62.5m departure of Matheus Cunha. Aston Villa have agreed a six-figure fee for Brest goalkeeper Marco Bizot, who will provide backup for Emiliano Martínez.
