Arsenal closing in on £20m signing of Sporting striker Tiago Tomas

Arsenal are close to finalising the £20m signing of Sporting Lisbon’s Tiago Tomas ahead of bringing the striker to north London in the summer.

‘Who?’ is understandable response.

The 18-year-old broke into the Sporting first team at the tail end of the previous campaign, since becoming a regular feature in 2020/21 with 18 appearances in Liga NOS, eight of which were starts.

A return of two goals and two assists from his 23 senior outings is hardly worth shouting about, but Edu has nonetheless been hugely impressed. Working on a deal with his opposite number, Hugo Viana, at Sporting, a move has been in the offing for a number of weeks.

Arsenal close to finalising a deal with Sporting Lisbon to sign 18-year-old striker Tiago Tomas for £20m in the summer transfer window

This all comes courtesy of The Sun, who insist a deal is in the final stages of being completed before Tomas will move to Arsenal at the end of the season.

He only put pen to paper on a new five-year deal just just last summer after six years with the club, one that included a whopping £50m buyout clause, but given the financial implications of the coronavirus pandemic and Sporting’s somewhat excessive spending in recent years, the Gunners will be able to secure their man for closer to £20m.

It isn’t only Edu who has been enamoured by Tiago Tomas, as Mikel Arteta is firmly in the ‘yes’ camp as he looks to build his rebuild his failing squad. Unbeknownst previously, the duo attended the Derby de Lisboa earlier in February to scout out their upcoming Europa League opponents, Benfica, in which time they were also able to get a first-hand look at Tomas.

Not getting on the scoresheet, the 18-year-old nonetheless helped his side to a 1-0 win that keeps them top of the Liga NOS table. Now it seems the Premier League beckons.