Sport.co.uk understands Arsenal have completed the signing of AFC Ajax centre back Thomas Vermaelen for a fee believed to be in the region of £10 million. According to sources inside the club, the deal for the Belgian international will be confirmed in the next 48 hours.
The 23-year-old moved to Ajax in 2004 from Antwerp outfit Germinal Beerschot and has since played 85 times for the Amsterdam giants as well as accumulating 21 caps for his country.
The news comes only hours after former Arsenal captain Tony Adams revealed that he had watched the player on behalf of Arsene Wenger but hinted that despite his obvious quality his physical attributes may let him down.
"I think Thomas is a very good player but I don’t think he’s ready for the Arsenal," Adams told Setanta.
"I don’t think the punters at Arsenal would like another small one.
"I don’t know whether he’ll end up going for a bigger player. We’ll see how much money we’ve got first.
"I have been looking at the Dutch league, but to be honest with you it’s been decimated.
"It’s a poor league at the moment, there’s one or two players but they’re leaving too early as well."