Arsenal will complete the signing of Fernando Llorente from Juventus on Monday.
Arsene Wenger has been on the lookout for a striker all summer, and having seen his chances of prising Karim Benzema away from Real Madrid diminish, it looks like the Arsenal manager has been forced to look elsewhere.
Llorente was made available by Juventus after they signed Paulo Dybala and Mario Mandzukic in the summer transfer window, and after initially hesitating on a deal, having been offered the striker earlier in the summer transfer window, it looks like Arsenal have now pulled the trigger.
Or at least that is what the Daily Express, who cite a report in Tuttosport, and L'Equipe, who refer to reports from England and Italy, believe, with those stories suggesting Llorente will complete his move to the Emirates on Monday, with Arsenal paying Juventus €12million (£8.5m) for the 30-year-old.
The Sun have also acknowledged the report linking Llorente to Arsenal, but according to them, the move is not quite as done a deal as the others might want you to believe.
"They have made an inquiry but there is no bid yet," a Juventus source told the English newspaper. "But it is clear they are interested and it is also clear that Juventus are ready to listen."
There is absolutely no doubt that Llorente has been made available for sale, considering the strikers now at the Turin club's disposal, but if Wenger fancies the former Athletic Bilbao man or not is another story.
Llorente was heavily linked with a move to Arsenal, before the Spain international completed his free transfer to Juventus from Athletic Bilbao, and having struggled to make enough of an impression in Serie A, it will a little surprising if Wenger takes a punt on the striker.
Wenger has repeatedly said he will only dive into the transfer market if he finds a player better than the current crop at Arsenal, and considering the manager has Olivier Giroud, Danny Welbeck, Theo Walcott, Alexis Sanchez and Chuba Akpom for the central striker position, it will be a little puzzling if he decides to add Llorente to that list as well, even if the striker will only cost £8.5m.
Benzema reportedly remains the primary target for Arsenal, with the likes of Robert Lewandowski and Marco Reus also linked, and waiting to see if an opportunity to sign one of those marquee players arises, surely makes more sense than agreeing a deal for Llorente, irrespective of how decent a backup to Giroud the Spanish striker might be.
