Arsenal confirm signing of teenage centre back Omar Rekik from Hertha Berlin

Arsenal have completed the £540,000 signing of teenage centre back Omar Rekik from German side Hertha Berlin.  

Rekik trained with the club’s Under 23s on Wednesday at their London Colney base before Gunners boss Mikel Arteta admitted the deal would be announced ‘very soon’.

And the Gunners confirmed the expected news on Thursday afternoon, announcing the 19-year-old will join up initially with the Under 23s squad after signing his professional contract.

Arsenal have completed the signing of Omar Rekik after he took part in training with Under 23s

Rekik, who has been tipped for a bright future, is a ball playing centre back and is equally comfortable on either side. 

Rekik, who was born in the Netherlands, has played internationally at youth level for both Holland and Tunisia. 

Prior to moving to Hertha Berlin, the defender had spent time at Feyenoord, Manchester City, PSV Eindhoven and Marseille. 

Arsenal had reached a deal with Hertha Berlin to sign Rekik for £900,000 on the final day of the summer transfer window. However, the switch was not signed off in time forcing, both clubs to hold off until January. 

As a result, the fee for the 19-year-old has come down to around £540,000 due to the delay – according to The Metro.   

And Arteta has revealed his excitement about snapping up the young centre back for the future.

When quizzed on the impending transfer, Arteta said: ‘He’s a young talent that we’ve been following for a while that we believe has a really bright future. But we will give more details when we can. 

More to follow…