Arsenal close in on £400,000 signing of Borussia Dortmund midfielder Thomas Eisfeld after holding talks in London

The 19-year-old playmaker will complete a move to London in the next 24 hours if he passes a stringent medical

Thomas Eisfeld

Arsenal are in advanced talks to sign midfielder Thomas Eisfeld from Borussia Dortmund for around £400,000, Goal.com confirmed.

The 19-year-old German has been in London today with his agent Reza Fazeli negotiating a switch to the Premier League club.

Eisfeld, who is a product of Dortmund’s academy and has found his path to the first team blocked by the likes of German sensation Mario Gotze, is set to to complete a move to Arsenal in the next 24 hours if he passes what is expected to be a stringent medical.

The teenager's development has been hindered by keee problems - he tore his anterior cruciate ligament in 2009 - and he will be put through his paces at the club’s London Colney training ground before signing a long-term contract.

It is not known whether Eisfeld, who only turned 19 earlier this month, will go straight into the first-team set-up or start off with Arsenal’s academy. He has played most of his football for Dortmund’s Under-19 team this season, where he has been the team's leading scorer, with six goals from 12 games.

Arsenal have taken advantage of the youngster’s availability – he is out of contract in the summer – to prise the highly-rated young playmaker from Germany.

The Premier League club are likely to have to pay a compensation fee of around £400,000 to Dortmund for developing Eisfeld.

Had he stayed in Germany, Eisfeld would have faced strong competition for a place, with the Bundesliga champions having signed midfielders Moritz Leitner, Leonardo Bittencourt and Mustafa Amini over the course of the last 12 months.
Goal.com