Southampton have agreed a fee with Arsenal to sign England goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale in a deal worth up to £25m.
Ramsdale, 26, is expected to make the move before Friday’s transfer deadline, with Saints paying £18m upfront with the potential of £7m in add-ons.
Speaking to BBC Radio Solent after Southampton’s 5-3 Carabao Cup second round win at Cardiff, Saints boss Russell Martin said: “If it happens it’s very, very exciting.
“But we’ll have to wait and see. I’m sure we’ll talk about it at some point if and when it happens.”
Wolverhampton Wanderers had been in talks with Arsenal about signing the keeper, who is back-up to David Raya at Emirates Stadium.
However, they pulled out because of the deal being too expensive.
Ramsdale played every minute of every league game as Arsenal finished second behind Manchester City in 2022-23.
However, he lost his place to Raya, who joined on loan from Brentford last season.
Ramsdale made just six league appearances while Arsenal have since turned Raya’s loan into a permanent signing.
Whilst this is a big outlay for a goalkeeper, Ramsdale is an England international who until recently was tipped as the next big thing.
The 26-year-old lost his place at Arsenal to David Raya but is still a very good goalkeeper and represents a huge improvement on Martin’s current options.
News of there deal filtered through ahead of kick-off against Cardiff and the Daily Echo asked Martin what he could tell them about the agreed deal for Ramsdale after the game.
Martin responded: “I’ve been on the other side of the pitch so I don’t know. I think he’d be a fantastic addition, if we are able to do it.”
The Saints boss clearly did not want to jinx the transfer after seeing the Bijlow deal fall through, adding: “We’ll see because we had another goalkeeper in this week and it was well-documented and that didn’t happen.
“If it gets done, as and when it gets done, I’ll express my emotion about it to you then. But until then, I can’t really do very much.”
If Southampton can get this deal across the line then Martin will surely throw Ramsdale straight into action as the Saints seek their first points of the season away at Brentford.
Southampton are interested in signing Maxwel Cornet from West Ham after failing in a move for Tom Fellows from West Brom, according to the Daily Mail.
The newspaper reported on 29 August (page 71) that the Saints were rebuffed in their attempts to sign the winger from the Baggies.
Now the newly promoted side are keen on bringing in the Ivory Coast international from the Hammers before the 30 August deadline.
The 27-year-old completed a £17.5million move to the London Stadium from Burnley over two years ago [Sky Sports] but has failed to make a positive impact.
The opening months of his spell at Turf Moor were electric but that hasn’t been replicated in East London yet.
With the options that Julen Lopetegui already has at his disposal in attacking areas, there isn’t a real need for Cornet in the squad for the campaign.
