Following on from the signing of midfielder Granit Xhaka last month, Arsenal are reportedly on the brink of adding Leicester City striker Jamie Vardy to their squad.
According to The Guardian, the Gunners have triggered the release clause in his contract with the Foxes, and now it will be down to whether or not they can agree personal terms.
Should they wrap up the £20m move, it will add to the £30m already spent on Xhaka, as noted by The Express, and with the summer barely underway, it marks a seemingly important turning point for the club.
Arsenal supporters have been divided this past season over the club’s ambition, ability to compete for trophies and lack of spending in order to achieve their objectives.
For the most part, it has been Arsene Wenger who has faced the brunt of their anger, criticism and disappointment, and there have been significant calls for the Frenchman to step down and allow for a fresh start at the club.
However, his resolve hasn’t been broken and it’s clear that he will remain in charge for another year at least, and it seems as though he is finally in a position to spend money and bolster his squad with the right players.
Xhaka will add steel and quality to the midfield, albeit with plenty of competition to overcome first in order to establish himself as a starter, while Vardy, should he arrive, will bring pace, movement and an eye for goal having registered 24 goals for Leicester last season en route to winning the Premier League title.
With the likes of Olivier Giroud and Theo Walcott failing to be that 20-plus goals a season striker that the Gunners have desperately needed, it has been a source of great frustration for supporters not to see Arsenal strengthen in that department in particular.
Some will now raise their eyebrows over the fee for Vardy, who turned 29 earlier this year, but given his rise to prominence and current level of performance, he will be expected to hit the ground running next season if he does agree to a switch to north London.
With so much of the summer remaining, Wenger is likely far from done in the transfer market. Whether he signs Vardy and continues to spend vast amounts of money on certain individuals remains to be seen, but he’s now set the tone and appears to finally be answering the calls of the supporters ahead of what will be a bitterly competitive season in the Premier League next year.