Arsenal agree fee for signing of Bundesliga defender

Arsenal are understood to have sealed the signing of Borussia Dortmund's Sokratis Papastathopoulos after agreeing on a £16m fee with the Bundesliga outfit.

According to The Telegraph, the Greek footballer is due to become the club's second signing of the summer following the arrival of Stephan Lichtsteiner on a Bosman.

However, the deal is only expected to be finalised at the end of the month with Dortmund said to want a suitable replacement for the former Werder Bremen man.

Sokratis, who has just 12 months left on his Dortmund, has been tipped to pen a three-year contract with the Gunners ahead of his proposed arrival in July.

He is expected to add valuable experience in the central defence with with Per Mertesacker having retired whilst Laurent Koscielny will miss the first half of the campaign with a long-term Achilles injury.

Apart from Sokratis, Arsenal are also making their move to sign highly-rated French teenager Yacine Adli from Paris Saint-Germain. Unai Emery's side are likely to pay a compensation of just £223,000 for the 17-year-old.