Christian Norgaard to Arsenal 'timeline' revealed as Gunners on brink of £15m transfer

Arsenal-bound midfielder Christian Norgaard is reportedly set to complete his £15m transfer from Brentford within the next 48 hours.

The Gunners are thought to have shaken hands with their London rivals on a deal for the experienced Dane, whom they will pay an initial £10m for with £5m in add-ons.

Brentford director of football Phil Giles recently confirmed that a deal was "more likely than not" to go through, and personal terms between Arsenal and Norgaard are not expected to be an issue.

The Scandinavian's move has been slightly delayed over the past week, though, as Arsenal firstly sought to wrap up deals for goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga and Real Sociedad's Martin Zubimendi.

The latter's unveiling was supposedly pushed back due to the tragic deaths of Diogo Jota and Andre Silva, but he was finally confirmed as the Gunners' new number six on Sunday.

Norgaard to complete Arsenal move 'within 48 hours'

With Kepa and Zubimendi now settling in to their new environment, it is all systems go on the Norgaard front, and Ben Jacobs claims that a move should go through within the next 48 hours.

The 31-year-old should therefore officially be an Arsenal player by Wednesday evening, even if it takes a little while longer for the Gunners to announce him as their third summer signing.

Norgaard is expected to play the Jorginho role at the Emirates Stadium, serving as a backup to Zubimendi as Mikel Arteta prepares for a major shake-up at the base of his midfield.

Norgaard's predecessor Jorginho departed on a free transfer for Flamengo earlier this summer, while Thomas Partey - who was recently charged with five counts of rape and one of sexual assault - left at the end of his contract on June 30.

The Brentford captain will depart the Gtech Community Stadium after registering 13 goals and 18 assists in 196 appearances for the Bees in all competitions since joining from Fiorentina in 2019, when the West London club were in the Championship.

Who could follow Norgaard to Arsenal this summer?

Two done, one pending and four in the works appears to be the transfer state of play at the Emirates Stadium, where Arsenal are likely to splurge another £200m - at least - yet again this summer.

Once Norgaard is donning a different shade of red and white, Arsenal might ramp up their efforts to sign Cristhian Mosquera from Valencia; a second bid is anticipated for the defender after the Gunners failed with a £12.1m offer.

Progress has also been made on the Viktor Gyokeres front, as Arsenal are advancing in talks over a deal which could be worth around £70m, but there has been no agreement with Sporting Lisbon just yet.

Elsewhere in the attack, the Gunners are expected to open talks with Chelsea over a deal for £50m-rated Noni Madueke, while Crystal Palace's Eberechi Eze remains of interest too.

Written by
Ben Knapton