Arsenal are closing in on the £48 million double signing of Bayer Leverkusen goalkeeper Bernd Leno and Uruguay midfielder Lucas Torreira as new manager Unai Emery continues to overhaul the defensive spine of his squad.

Emery has already added two defenders following the free transfer of Stephan Lichsteiner and a £16 million deal for Borussia Dortmund centre-back Sokratis Papastathopoulos.

Goalkeeper and central midfield have been two other priorities and, following the start of talks last week, deal are now close for both players.

The move for Leno, who would cost around £22 million and narrowly missed out on a place in the Germany World Cup squad, suggests that either Petr Cech or David Ospina will be sold. Both goalkeepers have one year remaining on their contracts and, while Cech has generally been the number one, has had a mixed season.

Leno is 26 and has been a regular in the Leverkusen team, as well as playing six matches for Germany and being part of their squad in last summer’s Confederations Cup.