Arsenal 'finalising' goalkeeper move ahead of United States tour

Arsenal are 'finalising' a deal for teenage goalkeeper Tommy Setford, with the club hoping the move will be concluded before they jet off on their pre-season tour of the United States.

The talented 18-year-old has just a year remaining on his Ajax contract and the Dutch giants had hoped to prolong his stay in the Netherlands.

But after it became clear that Setford was unwilling to sign a new deal, Ajax agreed to sell to Arsenal for a fee in the region of £1m.

The Standard report that the deal is now entering the final stages and there's a 'hope' that Setford will be an Arsenal player by the time the club fly out late on Sunday to begin preparations for their friendly against Bournemouth on Wednesday.

Manchester United and Liverpool are Arsenal's two other opponents on their North American adventure, before an Emirates Cup clash with Lyon at home finishes the preparations of Mikel Arteta's players for the new Premier League season.

Tune in toThe Chronicles of a Gooner - the Arsenal podcast - as Harry Symeou discusses the potential arrival of Riccardo Calafiori at the Emirates Stadium.

The Gunners are hoping to go one better than last year, when they finished as runners-up to Manchester City for a second successive season. Arsenal collected 89 points during 2023/24 - five more than they picked up a year prior - and even though they won their last six Premier League games, they were unable to topple Pep Guardiola's charges.

Setford's arrival will deepen a goalkeeping pool that includes David Raya, Aaron Ramsdale and Karl Hein, who is expected to be the number one goalkeeper for Arsenal's tour as Raya and Ramsdale vacation after being away on Euro 2024 duty with Spain and England.

Another player who could join Arsenal's tour party is Riccardo Calafiori, who is closing on a £38m move from Bologna. The versatile defender, who can play at centre-back or left-back, was in impressive form for Italy at Euro 2024, building on a tremendous club season that saw Bologna qualify for next season's Champions League.

Calafiori has agreed a five-year contract, with terms also agreed in principle between Arsenal and Bologna. The remaining steps are for the Italian side to negotiate with Calafiori's former club Basel over a sell-on clause, which would currently pocket the Swiss side up to 50% per cent of the fee.