Official: Arsenal beat Napoli to complete £22.5m deal, agent makes confirmation

The agent of Arsenal new goalie Bernd Leno has revealed how the Gunners stole a march on Napoli to sign the German shot-stopper.

Leno arrived Arsenal as their second summer signing after Stephan Lichtsteiner – he joined from Bayern Leverkusen in a £22.5m deal.

The player has arrived the Emirates with the pedigree of a World class goalkeeper and it is reported that David Ospina will be sold as it given that he has fallen further down the selection pecking order of Emery.

Leno is represented by Fabio Parisi and according to RMC, he said:

“Napoli started a negotiation with Leno when there Sarri was on the bench, then the deal went down when Ancelotti was in.

“This does not mean that it was a choice of the latter: it was evaluations made at certain times.
“Leno was available for transfer to Naples, but when the club relaxed a moment, the player felt free to listen to other offers.”

Napoli had crisis over their manager. The sacked Maurizio Sarri and replaced him with former Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti – their manager conundrum apparently stalled proceedings for them in the transfer window.


Petr Cech has also being linked with a move away from Arsenal but it is claimed that he could be given  a nod ahead of Leno.