On Thursday, De Telegraaf reported Ajax gave a deadline of yesterday for Arsenal to finalise a deal for Oleksandr Zinchenko.
The Eredivisie side have been chasing the 29-year-old for close to two weeks. On January 18th, the Dutch media stated Ajax have an agreement with Arsenal to sign him on loan.
The left-back, who can also operate as a midfielder, has a contract at the Emirates until June. The Gunners refused to let him leave on loan in the winter market and asked for a transfer fee.
Zinchenko has been on loan at Nottingham Forest since last summer. Mikel Arteta’s side will have to break this agreement with the Reds to sanction a move to Ajax.
At the weekend, Ajax interim manager Fred Grim confirmed their interest and was hopeful of securing the Ukraine international’s services. Negotiations between them and the north London club have dragged on for a while.
This led to the Amsterdam club issuing a transfer threat on Thursday. A fresh report from De Telegraaf states it has ‘paid off’. That’s because the Premier League side gave the ‘green light’ for his exit yesterday.
The newspaper state: ‘The Premier League leaders, who are selling the left-back to the Amsterdam club for over €1.5m plus a potential Champions League bonus, will give the Ukrainian almost his entire remaining salary.’
Arsenal exit conditioned by work permit
Ajax
Ajax decided to buy him instead of a loan so that he can obtain a work permit to play in the Netherlands.
De Telegraaf state: ‘Dutch regulations stipulate that a non-EU player must earn at least €260,000 to be eligible for a work permit, so a sale was chosen after all.’
Zinchenko will sign a contract until the end of this season. The report adds the two clubs are sorting out the paperwork related to the operation. The Arsenal man can then travel to Amsterdam for a medical, which would take place on Friday.