Arsenal are reportedly close to agreeing a deal with Ligue 1 side Toulouse to sign their promising Ivorian right-back Serge Aurier as a replacement for the departing Bacary Sagna.
The fee is expected to be around £8m to acquire the services of the 21 year old, who is expected to sign on a five year contract worth around £60,000 per week. Despite fresh interest from Swansea and Queens Park Rangers, it appears that Arsenal may have finally gotten their long-term target. Carl Jenkinson is expected to be loaned out in order to prepare him for some long standing competition to play on the right hand side of the defence.
Currently with the Ivory Coast at the World Cup in Brazil, Aurier made his name professionally playing for RC Lens, where he made his debut as a 16 year old in a cup game. After three years playing in Northern France, Aurier moved down south to Toulouse, where he has already made 70 appearances, scoring eight goals.
He has also played 10 games for his nation, making his debut in June of last year. He put in a man of the match performance against Japan in the first game of the World Cup, setting up the two goals that saw Ivory Coast follow up an unbeaten qualification stage with a 2-1 victory in Recife.
The deal is expected to be completed within the coming days, with personal terms already having been agreed. It is a matter of putting pen to paper and finalising Arsenal's first signing of the summer.
