Arsenal are reportedly set to announce the signing of Bolton Wanderers centre-back Rob Holding in a deal worth £2m after having their bid accepted.
The 20-year-old came through the youth set-up at Bolton, and featured for the England Under-21 side at the Toulon Tournament earlier this summer.
According to The Sun, Arsenal have swooped quickly to acquire him after having their initial offer rejected, with Holding undergoing a medical on Monday night and is now working on personal terms to complete his move to the Emirates.
Bournemouth were also said to be interested in the defender, but Arsenal’s reported £2m offer was enough to secure the deal after failing with a £1.2m bid previously, as noted by The Sun.
It’s another promising move for the Gunners, as they have seemingly added another talented youngster to their squad with high hopes that he’ll have a successful future with them moving forward.
However, from the opposite perspective, it’s another underwhelming move from Wenger as supporters will undoubtedly be hoping for bigger and more established names this summer.
Granit Xhaka has been added to the midfield and will likely prove to be an astute signing from the French tactician, but the likes of Takuma Asano and Holding aren’t exactly the level of players that many were expecting to see arrive ahead of the new season.
While there is still plenty of time in the summer transfer window for Wenger to act and bring in some high-profile names to compliment his work in the market already, he’ll come under growing pressure the longer he leaves it.
Arsenal finished second in the Premier League last season, and given the arrival of top managers at their direct rivals and the money being spent around them, they will need to strengthen or risk falling behind in the upcoming campaign.