Liverpool have agreed a £40m deal to sign Arsenal and England midfielder Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.
The 24-year-old, who rejected a move to Chelsea on Tuesday after a fee had been agreed, will join Liverpool on a five-year contract worth £120,000 a week.
Oxlade-Chamberlain, who is in the final year of his Arsenal contract, rejected a new deal worth up to £180,000 a week to stay at the Emirates.
He has started each of Arsenal’s four games so far this season.
The midfielder is expected to have a medical before flying to Malta with England on Thursday, before the summer transfer window closes at 23:00 BST.
Oxlade-Chamberlain has made 198 appearances for Arsenal since joining them from Southampton in August 2011, scoring 20 goals.
The fee is the highest Liverpool have yet paid for a player – although it will be surpassed by the £48m the Reds have agreed to pay for RB Leipzig’s Naby Keita next summer.
So far this summer, Liverpool have signed winger Mohamed Salah from Roma for £34m, full-back Andrew Robertson from Hull for £8m and striker Dominic Solanke after his contract at Chelsea expired.
Liverpool have also been pursuing Monaco’s £75m-rated winger Thomas Lemar and Southampton centre-back Virgil van Dijk, while the Reds’ Brazil forward Philippe Coutinho remains Barcelona’s number one transfer target.
Belgium striker Divock Origi could leave Anfield and join Bundesliga side Wolfsburg on loan before the transfer window closes on Thursday, says BBC Sport’s chief football writer Phil McNulty.
The 22-year-old is highly rated by Reds manager Jurgen Klopp but the imminent arrival of Oxlade-Chamberlain from Arsenal means his chances in attack are likely to be restricted this season.
Origi wants regular football throughout Belgium’s build-up to next summer’s World Cup and Liverpool will also be eager to see the talented young forward continue his progress, so it is expected he will leave Anfield before the deadline.
Former Saints at Anfield |
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Nathaniel Clyne (Southampton to Liverpool, July 2015m, £12.5m) |
Dejan Lovren (Southampton to Liverpool, July 2014, £20m) |
Sadio Mane (Southampton to Liverpool, July 2016, £34m) |
Adam Lallana (Southampton to Liverpool, July 2014, £25m) |
Transfer deadline day – what to expect
Oxlade-Chamberlain’s transfer is expected to go through on Thursday, on what is expected to be a frantic deadline day, with the futures of many high profile players still uncertain.
Over £1bn has already been spent by Premier League clubs in a record breaking summer, while Neymar joined Paris St-Germain for a world transfer record of £200m.
After missing out on Oxlade-Chamberlain, Chelsea will hope to sign England and Leicester midfielder Danny Drinkwater, who has asked to leave the Foxes.
The Premier League champions have also seen a £25m bid for England midfielder Ross Barkley rejected by Everton, but the 23-year-old could still leave the Toffees.
Chelsea striker Diego Costa’s future is still unresolved. With the Spain international no longer in Antonio Conte’s plans, he could still rejoin Atletico Madrid, despite the Londoners having previously demanded a fee Atletico ‘can’t get near’, according to the player.
Swansea’s Fernando Llorente has been widely tipped as a replacement for Costa, while Paul Clement wants Ivory Coast striker Wilfried Bony to rejoin the club from Manchester City as he also closes on the signing of Bayern Munich’s attacking midfielder Renato Sanches on a season-long loan.
Arsenal could see another player leave, with rivals Manchester City having a £50m bid for Chile forward Alexis Sanchez rejected.
The Gunners want England winger Raheem Sterling as part of any deal, but Guardiola wants Sanchez as a straight purchase.
Guardiola is also interested in West Brom defender Jonny Evans and City have had two bids rejected for the Northern Ireland international, while the Baggies also rejected a £23m offer from Leicester.
Both Liverpool and Arsenal have pursued Monaco winger Thomas Lemar,while his club team-mate Kylian Mbappe is finally expected to complete a protracted loan move to Paris St-Germain.
Crystal Palace want out of favour Liverpool defender Mamadou Sakho to return to the club after a successful loan spell last season.
Philippe Coutinho’s move to Barcelona has been one of the long running transfer sagas of the summer, with the Brazil forward still the number one target for the La Liga club, despite the Reds rejecting a £114m bid.
Chelsea target Drinkwater might not be the only one of Leicester’s Premier League winning side to leave, with Jamie Vardy and Riyad Mahrez’s futures still not clear.
The transfer window closes on Thursday at 23:00 BST in England, Scotland, Italy and France, but 17:00 BST in Germany. Spanish clubs have until 23:00 BST on Friday to get their deals done.
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Source: BBC