Arsenal have reportedly reached an agreement with Hertha Berlin on a compensation of €600,000 fee to sign highly-rated defender Omar Rekik in January.
German publication Bild have reported that Arsenal and Hertha Berlin have managed to reach an agreement for the transfer of Omar Rekik. The two clubs have agreed on a compensation fee of €600,000 for the youngster, with the Gunners set to land the defender in January.
According to the report, Hertha Berlin have granted Rekik the permission to complete his medical ahead of the impending move to Arsenal, wherein he will initially form a part of the Under-23 squad and play in the Premier League 2 while also being given opportunities to train with the first-team.
Omar Rekik is widely regarded as an up-and-coming talent but has yet to leave a lasting mark in the Bundesliga, having not managed to break into the first-team setup at Hertha Berlin, despite being on the bench thrice in the Bundesliga for the German club.
Rekik spent a brief period in England while part of the Manchester City youth setup and has played for both Netherlands and Tunisia at the lower age levels internationally thus far. The 19-year-old knows how to use his height to good effect and has a good head on him.
The Hertha Berlin youngster also appears comfortable on the ball and seems to possess the qualities required in a modern-day defender.
As far as Arsenal are concerned, Mikel Arteta is still having issues at the back, despite bringing in Gabriel and David Luiz in the summer. William Saliba has not made the cut so far at Arsenal while the likes of Sokratis, Shkodran Mustafi and Pablo Mari seem to cut a frustrating figure at the club.
Rob Holding has impressed in bits and pieces but Arteta will be looking to bring Rekik in with the view of him being inculcated into the first-team options for the centre-back positions from the 2021/22 season.
€600,000 is bargain for a 19-year-old who has been touted to become a quality defender in the future and Arsenal would hope they haven’t made the same mistake they supposedly did while signing Saliba, as it appears the Ligue 1 import has not exactly managed to impress the manager enough to warrant chances in the first-team, despite being labelled as a potential starter from the get-go during the transfer.