Arsenal are close to agreeing a fee for Sheffield United goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale, according to Football.London’s Chris Wheatley.

The journalist, who is pretty reliable when it comes to the Gunners, says that the London club are willing to pay £24m upfront for Ramsdale, with £6m more being paid in performance-related bonuses:

Excl: Arsenal in advanced talks to sign Sheffield United goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdalehttps://t.co/K503vy3kJt

— Chris Wheatley (@ChrisWheatley_) August 11, 2021

Last month, it was claimed in the Sheffield media that the Blades were holding out for around £40m for Ramsdale, but Wheatley says that the Yorkshire club are likely to accept an offer in the region of £30m.

We shall see whose reporting is more accurate, but it was telling that manager Slavisa Jokanovic left the England international out of the squad for the 1-0 win over Carlisle last night.

Arsenal want Ramsdale to be their cup goalkeeper initially and if he featured yesterday, he would have been unable to play in the Carabao Cup this season. Jokanovic denied that the 23-year-old’s absence was related but that seems unlikely, considering what we know now.