Arsenal have been given the green light to sign Eintracht Frankfurt defender Evan Ndicka this summer - which would halt a worrying transfer trend in the process.
Mikel Arteta will be looking to continue his rebuild in the upcoming transfer window after a disappointing January where they missed out on several targets including Dusan Vlahovic.
The Gunners are looking for a third centre-half to be included in their rotation alongside Ben White and Gabriel.
William Saliba, who is set to return from his loan spell from Marseille could be utilised, but reports suggest the north Londoners could look to sell the Frenchman.
Ndicka has entered the equation, as a result, with Arsenal taking a close look at the 22-year-old, but are facing stiff competition from the likes of Tottenham and Paris Saint-Germain.
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Did Arsenal make a mistake by parting ways with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang? Comment below
Ndicka is under contract at Eintracht for one more season and with talks stalling over a contract extension, Bild claims the club will look to sell their prized asset for around £17.5million so he doesn't leave as a free agent the following summer.
Arsenal have now been given the green light to make their move and it could be a smart bit of business investing in a player with only a year left on his deal - increasing the likelihood they could make a profit on the player later down the line.
This is something Arsenal have found difficult over the last decade as it emerged the club have the third-highest transfer deficit in the Premier League over that span, according to new data.
New figures from CIES Football Observatory claim the Gunners have spent a total of €1029bn, while only recouping €446m (£377m) on sales which gives them a total deficit of €583m (£492m), highlighting the club's glaring issue of balancing the books.
Some of Arsenal's most expensive and valuable players have left for nothing including Aaron Ramsey, Mesut Ozil, Alexis Sanchez and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang as the Gunners let their contracts wind down or are able to shift their hefty salaries.
Aubameyang is the most recent casualty after joining Barcelona following a public fallout with Mikel Arteta as he was stripped of the captaincy.
Arsenal were looking at the long-term as they cut their losses with the Gabon international and his £350,00-a-week salary, but there is no doubt it's a costly mistake.
There were claims that the Gunners would pocket all of the £25,783,333 they were tied into paying him between now and the end of his contract in July 2023 had he remained at the club.
But that is not the case according to The Athletic as Mikel Arteta's men are splitting his wages with Barcelona until the summer, at which point the Spanish club will then start paying the full amount of his salary which is actually lower than what he was earning in north London.
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Arsenal have made a significant saving, but it is not as high as £25m and, in fact, it's been reported they have actually been forced to pay Aubameyang £7m to cancel his contract.
This worrying trend is set to continue in the summer to make matters worse with Alexandre Lacazette, who cost £46m, set to leave for free.
Nicolas Pepe's future at Arsenal is also up in the air and the Gunners are unlikely to profit from their £72m outlay in the summer of 2019.
But that blow could be softened with the arrival of Ndicka who is exactly the type of player the Gunners should be looking at.