Arsenal expect to announce the £30m signing of Granit Xhaka in the next 48 hours.
The deal has been agreed, medical passed and even publicity photos done but they rushed it through at the weekend to allow the midfielder to join up with Switzerland’s Euro 2016 squad.
Xhaka will be Arsenal’s third biggest signing after Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez and Arsene Wenger is keen to rush it through to try and lift the mood at the Emirates.
They also want a top class striker and centre half as major signings while younger targets like Maxi Romero, Rob Holding and Kieran Tierney could take spending towards the £80m mark.
Xhaka flew into London on Friday ahead of his move from Borussia Monchengladbach and pictures were leaked on Twitter which appeared to show the Swiss midfielder posing for pictures in the new kit.
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The 23-year-old is expected to add leadership, excellent technical ability and a penchant for a red card to their midfield.
Xhaka joined Gladbach in 2012, arriving for £6.3million from Swiss side Basel after a stellar year for the Swiss side, winning the league and cup double, with Xhaka named the Swiss Premier League’s young player of the year.
Before then, Xhaka led Switzerland to Under-17 World Cup glory in Nigeria in 2009, before the Euro Under-21 finals in 2011 where they finished runners-up.
Xhaka, born to Kosovo Albanian parents was fast-tracked into the senior Swiss ranks, becoming a full international shortly after his 18th birthday.