Premier League leaders, Arsenal, have agreed a £12m deal with Chelsea for midfielder Jorginho.

The 31-year-old midfielder is expected to sign an 18-month contract with an option to extend for a further year.

Football transfer expert, Fabrizio Romano, made the disclosure via a post on his verified Twitter account on Tuesday.

“Jorginho to Arsenal, here we go! Deal agreed on £12m fee, Chelsea accept conditions and documents are being prepared.

“Personal terms agreed, contract until 2024 with option further year.

“First contact revealed yesterday night — medical booked.

READ ALSO: Brighton reject Arsenal’s £70m bid for Moises Caicedo

“Arteta, key factor,” Romano tweeted.

The Italian is into the final six months of his Chelsea contract and the Blues are trying to land a British record transfer for Benfica central midfielder, Enzo Fernandez.

Arsenal have seen two bids for Brighton’s Moises Caicedo rejected, with the second one amounting to £70m, and remain keen on the Ecuador international and ready to do a deal if the South Coast side change their stance.

Under Mikel Arteta, Arsenal tried to sign Jorginho in the summer of 2020, the year before the midfielder won the Champions League and European Championships with Italy.

Arteta was also the assistant coach at Manchester City when they tried to sign him in 2018 – but Jorginho turned down the move to join Maurizio Sarri instead at Chelsea from Napoli.

Jorginho is set to become Arsenal’s third signing of the January window, the club having previously bought Poland defender, Jakub Kiwior, from Spezia for 20m euros (£17.6m) and Belgium forward, Leandro Trossard, who moved from Brighton for £21 million.

The Gunners are five points clear at the top of the Premier League with a game in hand on the sides immediately below them.

Jorginho scored 29 goals in 213 appearances for Chelsea, winning the Champions League, Europa League, UEFA Super Cup, and FIFA Club World Cup during his time at the club.

The midfielder was born in Brazil but moved to Italy at the age of 15 and opted to play for the Azzurri at the international level.

He has 46 international caps and was part of the Italy side that beat England to win Euro 2020 at Wembley in July 2021.

The Star