Chelsea have made a breakthrough in talks with Arsenal and agreed to pay £18m for Olivier Giroud, reports The Daily Telegraph.
Antonio Conte’s side agreed a £20m deal earlier this week before taking their bid off the table in order to drive the price down.
Arsenal, unsurprisingly unimpressed with Chelsea’s move, threatened to walk away from negotiations, but have now agreed to Giroud’s sale to Chelsea.
Giroud’s impending arrival at Chelsea will now almost certainly see Michy Batshuayi leave to join Borussia Dortmund and accelerate Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s move to Arsenal.
The Gabon international is currently in London after jetting in from Germany to undergo his medical with Arsenal but will only be able to join Arsene Wenger’s side if Dortmund land a replacement before Wednesday’s deadline.
However, news that Chelsea have finally agreed a fee with Arsenal for Giroud should allow the transfer to proceed into the final stages as all three clubs are poised to trade strikers.
Giroud was open to leaving Arsenal this month in a bid to find regular playing time elsewhere to secure a starting berth for France at the 2018 World Cup.
In the last three Premier League campaigns, Giroud has scored at least five more goals as a substitute than any other player (13) and should satisfy Conte’s month-long search for a target man.
