Southampton are edging closer to completing a deal to sign Ainsley Maitland-Niles from Arsenal on a season-long loan.
Mirror Sport revealed earlier this week that the Saints were keen on the Gunners star, who has been made available either on a permanent or loan deal after falling down the pecking order under Mikel Arteta.
Now Fabrizio Romano claims that talks are ongoing with the player and a medical will be conducted soon to get the move to St Mary's completed.
The 25-year-old has been absent from Arsenal’s squad in each of their opening four victories in the Premier League. Maitland-Niles has one-year left on his contract but there is a 12 month option meaning that Arsenal would still be willing to let him leave on loan.
Saints had faced competition from newly promoted AFC Bournemouth but it seems Southampton are set to beat the Cherries to his signature.
Maitland-Niles joined Arsenal at the age of six in 2003, and became the third youngest Englishman in Champions League history when he made his professional debut at the age of 17 in December 2014.
After a successful loan spell at Ipswich Town, Maitland-Niles began to stake a claim for a place in the first team. He made 32 appearances during Arsene Wenger ’s final season in 2017/18 and went onto feature regularly under Unai Emery.
He initially retained his place in the side when Arteta took over in December 2019 and completed the full 90 minutes as Arsenal defeated Chelsea to lift the FA Cup. His impressive form for the Gunners earned him an international call-up and he went onto earn five caps for the Three Lions.
Maitland-Niles fell down the pecking order during the 2020/21 season and spent the second half of the campaign on loan at West Brom. His spell at the Hawthorns culminated in relegation and Maitland-Niles asked to leave Arsenal just two days before last summer’s transfer deadline.
He played just 11 times across all competitions before embarking on his second loan spell in 12 months with AS Roma. The former England international lifted the UEFA Europa League under Jose Mourinho but didn’t feature beyond the quarter-final stage.
Despite struggling to settle at Arsenal, Maitland-Niles boasts an extraordinary level of versatility. He is capable of playing at right-back, left-back, holding midfield and on either wing. In total, Maitland-Niles has scored three goals and provided eight assists in 132 appearances for the Gunners.
