Audio By Carbonatix
Arsenal have completed the signing of Anderlecht and Belgium youth midfielder Albert Sambi Lokonga on a long-term contract.
The fee, although undisclosed, is believed to be around £17.2m.
Having joined Anderlecht at 15, Lokonga made his first-team debut in December 2017, and has gone on to make 78 appearances, scoring three goals.
"Albert is a very intelligent player who has shown great maturity," said Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta.
"He has been coached well by Vincent Kompany and his team at Anderlecht. I know Vincent very well and he talks so highly about Albert and the positive impact he had to Anderlecht in recent seasons.
"We're confident Albert's ready for the next stage in his development and we're looking forward to welcoming a new member to our squad with his quality and presence."
Arsenal technical director Edu added: "There was a lot of interest in Albert and he was a big target for us.
"He will bring us strength in depth in the centre of midfield."
The midfielder, who will wear the number 23 and have Sambi on his shirt, has played seven times for Belgium Under-21's, scoring two goals.
Lokonga will join his new team-mates after he has completed the current isolation regulations for international arrivals into the UK.
Arsenal are also closing in on the transfer of Brighton and England defender Ben White, for £50m, having already taken 21-year-old left-back Nuno Tavares from Benfica for £8m this summer.
Latest Stories
-
GNFS contains raging fire at Kabanye in Wa Municipality
4 minutes -
Regional Ministers, MPs equipped with laptops for nationwide ‘One Million Coders’ rollout
5 minutes -
Police intercept over 11,000 rounds of ammunition at Nkwanta barrier, arrest two suspects
18 minutes -
GHALCA tried to talk Hohoe United out of GPL withdrawal – John Ansah
22 minutes -
Treat galamsey like COVID-19 or Ghana’s future — Paediatrician warns gov’t
25 minutes -
No Military lands given to Ibrahim Mahama — Defence Ministry dismisses claims
1 hour -
Black Stars and Lyon forward Ernest Nuamah resumes training after year-long absence
1 hour -
Endangered antelopes flown to Kenya from Czech zoo in ‘historic homecoming’
1 hour -
Five takeaways from the King’s historic address to Congress
1 hour -
Let’s join ‘National Streetism Awareness’ to raise awareness about plight of street children – Salome Atiglah
1 hour -
Prada launches Indian-made sandals after cultural appropriation backlash
1 hour -
Outrage after Indian man carries his sister’s skeleton to a bank to prove her death
1 hour -
GOIL launches 2026 HSSEQ Week with Focus on Psychosocial Well-being
2 hours -
NPRA’s digital revolution: How technology is reshaping Ghana’s pension sector
2 hours -
CID clears Sesi-Edem, Council of State member in $14.3m gold deal probe
2 hours