Arsenal in talks to push through permanent transfer after postponing medical | Football | Sport

Arsenal are in talks with Ajax over a permanent transfer for Oleksandr Zinchenko, who was initially set to join the Dutch side on loan. The Ukrainian international’s contract at the Emirates is due to expire in six months and he has fallen out of favour with Mikel Arteta after a disappointing loan stint at Nottingham Forest.

A six-month loan deal had been agreed upon between Arsenal and Ajax, which would have seen the Eredivisie club cover Zinchenko’s wages in full. However, negotiations are now progressing towards a reduced-price permanent move. Zinchenko was scheduled to undergo a medical in Amsterdam on Tuesday in preparation for his loan move, but this has been delayed while discussions continue.

All parties involved are confident that the transfer will go ahead as Zinchenko is eager to make the move to Ajax. This could see him team up again with ex-Arsenal colleague Takehiro Tomiyasu, who recently signed a short-term deal with Ajax after recovering from a long-term knee injury.

Tomiyasu parted ways with Arsenal last summer when his contract in north London was mutually terminated.

During his loan spell at Forest, Zinchenko made just five Premier League appearances and was also recently dropped from their Europa League squad following Ola Aina’s return from injury.

The final straw for the 29-year-old at the City Ground came after frank talks with Sean Dyche, leading to the decision that Forest would begin negotiations with Arsenal about potentially returning him to the Premier League leaders.

The obstacle is that there was no break clause in the original agreement, which was hastily arranged in the closing hours of the September transfer window.

However, Ajax had already expressed preliminary interest and have now shown a readiness to expedite a deal, which suits both Arsenal and Forest.

In the meantime, Marseille are also keen to secure Ethan Nwaneri on loan for the rest of the season.

Interest in the England U21 international is coming from both the Premier League and Europe, and it now seems increasingly likely that Arsenal could approve a loan – despite previously stating that the attacking midfielder was not available.