Arsenal sign Colombia keeper Ospina
- adamhigginsuk
- Jul 22, 2014
- 2 min read
Catching the eye: Ospina kept two clean sheets in five matches at the World Cup and made a series of superb saves as Colombia reached the last eight (Picture from Flickr.com)
ARSENAL have signed Colombian goalkeeper David Ospina from Nice for a fee in the region of £3.5 million.
Ospina will join the Gunners on their pre-season tour of the United States once he returns from holiday after helping Colombia reach the World Cup quarter-finals, where their hopes were ended by hosts Brazil.
The 25-year-old, who will undergo a medical in the coming days, has signed a four-year deal worth £60,000 a week.
He will be officially unveiled by the Premier League side next week once the formalities have been completed.
Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger said of the transfer: "David Ospina is an excellent goalkeeper, with good experience and a proven record of performing with Nice and Colombia. He will add strength to our squad and we are very pleased that he will be joining us."
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Ospina made 189 appearances in Ligue 1 for Nice during six seasons at the club.
Ospina, who has made 49 caps for his country, earned rave reviews for his impressive displays at this summer's World Cup tournament.
He is believed to have turned down an offer from La Liga side Valencia already and is seen as a replacement for Lukasz Fabianski, who joined Swansea earlier in the transfer window.
But boss Arsene Wenger has told Ospina that he can challenge current number one Woijech Szczezny for the goalkeeping jersey.
Ospina is expected to make his debut in the Emirates Cup pre-season tournament, which takes place on August 2 and 3.
It is Arsenal's third summer signing so far after the acquisitions of full-back Mathieu Debuchy from Newcastle and forward Alexis Sanchez from Barcelona.
The Gunners have also opened talks with Morgan Schneiderlin over a £15 million move from Southampton, but face strong competition from north London rivals Tottenham, it has emerged.
Last updated: 22 July 2014 12:33pm
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