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Arsenal are close to a deal to sign Icelandic goalkeeper Alex Rúnarsson, who plays for French side Dijon.
The Gunners are in the market for a replacement for Emi Martínez, who has moved to Aston Villa on a four-year deal. They wanted to sign David Raya from Brentford, but the Championship club have made it clear that he is not their sale, so now they have turned their attention to Rúnarsson instead, who represents a much cheaper alternative.
The goalkeeper, who is now 25, began his career with RB Reykjavik, before moving to Danish side Nordsjaelland in 2014. Two years ago, he moved to Dijon, where he has operated mainly as a back-up to Amigo Gomis.
Rúnarsson already has an Arsenal connection. Their current goalkeeping coach Inaki Cana worked with him when they were both in Danish football together.
Signing Rúnarsson will mean that the Gunners can re-invest the bulk of the money they have got from the Martínez sale elsewhere in the team.
Andy is an exiled English football fan living in Cyprus. He loves all sports but football is his abiding passion, and he still has dreams every now and then about scoring the winning goal in a Wembley Cup Final, even though his playing days are long gone. He follows most major leagues, across Europe at least, and has a favoured team in each. When he’s not watching, listening, reading or downloading podcasts about football, he spend his time worrying about his beloved Arsenal.