Arsenal are confident Thomas Lemar will arrive at the Emirates in a £92million move from Monaco in January, according to reports.
The Gunners missed out of the highly-rated attacker on deadline day amid claims he did not fancy a switch to North London.
But the Daily Star are now reporting that a deal has been agreed in principle with the French club and a five-year deal worth £250,000-a-week.
It goes on to say that Alexis Sanchez does not have to be sold to Manchester City for the Lemar deal to go through.
The Chilean was moments away from his dream move to the Etihad before the Gunners pulled the plug when Lemar confirmed he was staying at Monaco.
LIKE FANTASY FOOTBALL? SIGN UP TO PLAY DREAM TEAM WEEKENDER NOW
And boss Arsene Wenger said yesterday that he believed Sanchez could even sign a new deal with Arsenal.
But the reality is the former Barcelona star could leave the Gunners for just £20m in the new year.
Lemar was said to have snubbed a move to the Gunners, who have endured a terrible start to their Premier League campaign.
⚽ Premier League first goalscorer special ⚽
FANCY a bet on the first goalscorer in any of the Premier League matches this weekend?
Well look no further than Sun Bets, who guarantee best price on all first goalscorers in the top flight.
Whether it’s Romelu Lukaku who floats your boat against Stoke, or Harry Kane to get unstuck when Spurs face the Toffees, they’ll be top price.
And the best bit?
You can use Sun Bets’ ‘Bet £5, Get a Free £10 Bet’ offer at the same time!
What’s not to like?
SUN BETS BEST PRICE ON ALL PREMIER LEAGUE FIRST GOALSCORERS
*Ts and Cs apply
But it now looks like it could have been problems with getting the deal through as Lemar was on international duty with France.
Wenger confirmed during the international break that he would be resurrecting his interest in Lemar.
When asked about another bid, he said: “Also, yes. I think he’s a player who has an enormous availability – he’s always available on the pitch.
“It’s when you realise that he’s always ready to receive the ball, and he’s a very complete, balanced player who can defend.
“You could see on the goal he scored that he is concerned with quality of the action.
“He didn’t focus on power, he focused on quality, so his action becomes a pure one, because he’s relaxed and at the same time focused on the technical gesture.”
The report also claims Wenger is confident Mesut Ozil will sign a new deal with the Gunners.
The summer transfer window was one the craziest we have ever seen.
Take a look at the most profitable transfers of ALL time.
And here are the Premier League players whose wages made them the most expensive per minute played.
Kevin de Bruyne or Sadio Mane? Why not pick both in this weekend’s big game?
That’s the beauty of Dream Team Weekender – there are no budget limitations so you can pick any player available from this weekend’s fixtures, with Man City v Liverpool the pick of the bunch.
Weekender is the best new fantasy football game around and it’s absolutely free to enter.
Just select seven players from across the Saturday and Sunday Premier League fixtures for your chance to bag that tasty £20k prizepot.
Flopped last week? It doesn’t matter, as Weekender allows you to start afresh every single weekend. Let the games begin – sign up to play here!