Arsenal could announce the signing of Shkodran Mustafi next week, transfer market expert Emanuele Giulianelli has revealed.
Sky Sport Germany has also confirmed that the Gunners have opened talks to make the Germany international their fourth summer signing.
The defender has a release clause of £42.1million but according to Sky Sport Germany the Gunners will be able to sign the player if they offer £25.3million plus a further £8.4m in add-ons.
"Mustafi situation: Arsenal offered €18mln while Valencia want €25mln. The player is still potentially coming to Arsenal next week," Giulianelli wrote on Twitter.
Manager Arsene Wenger confirmed on Thursday that he will sign a new defender after Per Mertesacker underwent knee surgery that will keep him on the sidelines for months.
"We have bad news on Per Mertesacker," Wenger told reporters.
"He played in Lens on Friday night, he finished the game and had a little pain on his knee. We found out the next day that it was much more serious than expected.
"He had surgery yesterday in Germany. It all went well. I know you will ask me for how long he will be out. I don’t know that, it’s [some] months, but I don’t know [exactly] how long he will be out for.
"We have to look for an option to get a bit more experience.
"We will see some of our young centre backs on Thursday as well.
"With Per being out, we are a bit short on the experience front and we are looking to bring somebody in."
