Arsenal striker Gabriel Jesus arrived in Barcelona on Monday ahead of completing a €10 million ($11.6m) transfer to the Spanish champions.
Jesus, 29, will undergo a medical in the coming hours before signing a two-year contract with the Catalan club.
Premier League champions Arsenal will receive an initial €10m for Jesus, who had one year to run on his contract at the Emirates, with a source telling ESPN another €4m ($4.6m) is potentially due in the future based on performance-related add-ons.
Jesus could get a first look at his new teammates on Monday when he is expected to be in the crowd as Barça host Rayo Vallecano at Spotify Camp Nou looking to make it three wins from three to start the new LaLiga season.
Read more:What Arsenal’s Premier League title rivals still need in transfer window
A source described Barça’s move for Jesus as a “market opportunity” after Atlético Madrid refused to negotiate a deal for Julián Álvarez.
Following the departures of Robert Lewandowski and Ferran Torres, Barça have been left with no recognised striker in the squad.
Egyptian youngster Hamza Abdelkarim, registered with the reserve team, was used as the No.9 in preseason, but Raphinha has been deployed there since LaLiga began this month.
Read more:Barcelona in advanced talks with Arsenal for Gabriel Jesus – source
Following their failure to land top target Álvarez, Barça had considered not signing a striker, with Fermín López, Dani Olmo, Lamine Yamal, Anthony Gordon and Karim Adeyemi all cited as players who could play through the middle by coach Hansi Flick.
However, a source explained that Flick preferred to bring in a No.9 if possible, even if it is not someone who will be a guaranteed starter.
Jesus, out of favour at Arsenal, received Flick’s blessing when the option was put to him, with the source adding his arrival will not end Barça’s pursuit of Álvarez — even if it will not be possible to sign him this summer.
Read more:Juventus boss ‘very calm’ over Arsenal links to Kenan Yildiz
After spells with Palmeiras and Manchester City, Jesus joined Arsenal in 2022.
He scored 11 goals in 33 games in his first season with the Gunners, but has suffered several injury problems since, culminating with him losing his place in the team in recent years.
Both Kai Havertz and Viktor Gyökeres are currently preferred to him by coach Mikel Arteta and he’s not featured in either of the English side’s two competitive games so far this season.
