Arsenal have agreed a deal with Benfica for Nuno Tavares, with the left-back set to undergo a medical with the Gunners ahead of a £7 million ($9.7m) transfer.
The two clubs have been locked in talks over Tavares for the past few days, with the Gunners keen to bring him in as cover for Kieran Tierney.
After a slight hitch in negotiations on Tuesday, a deal for the 21-year-old has now been reached.
How much will Arsenal pay?
Arsenal have agreed to pay an initial fee of around £7m for the young defender. That fee could rise, however, by a further £1.5m ($2.1m) should certain clauses be met during Tavares’ stay in north London.
The Benfica youngster will now undergo a medical before finalising his switch to Emirates Stadium.
Why have Arsenal signed Tavares?
One of Arsenal’s priorities going into the summer transfer window was to bring in natural cover for Tierney on the left side of defence.
With Sead Kolasinac expected to leave before the end of the window, Mikel Arteta did want to find himself in a similar situation to the end of last season when he was forced to play Granit Xhaka at left-back when Tierney was injured.
Players like Ryan Bertrand and Patrick van Aanholt were considered, but Arsenal decided that bringing in a younger player was the better option.
What sort of left-back is Tavares?
Tavares is viewed as a strong attacking left-back, who has excellent pace and athletic qualities. He is prone to the occasional error defensively, however, so that would be an area Arsenal would look to develop once he completes his move to north London.
With Tierney the undisputed first choice at left-back, whoever is brought in this summer has to accept that their game time will be limited, especially with Arsenal having failed to secure European football for the coming season.
Tavares has scored once and contributed four assists in 30 appearances for Benfica since making his debut in August 2019.
