Arsenal are close to signing the 17-year-old midfield prospect Yacine Adli from Paris Saint‑Germain. They have offered him an initial three-year contract, although it contains options, after he rejected professional terms at PSG – much to the French club’s dismay.

Unai Emery, the new Arsenal manager, is helping to complete the deal. Emery left PSG at the end of this past season and one of his final acts was to give Adli his first-team debut. He brought him on as an 83rd-minute substitute in the last game, against Caen. Emery – together with Arsenal’s head of recruitment, Sven Mislintat – is trying to persuade Adli that his development will be best served at Arsenal.

Adli is tall, technically gifted and forward-thinking. Capped at under-16, under-17 and under-18 level by France, he can play in central midfield or on the flank. He is considered to be among the best young players in France.

Arsenal announced the first recruit of Emery’s tenure on Tuesday – the free‑agent signing of the 34-year-old Switzerland right-back Stephan Lichtsteiner from Juventus. The club are also in talks with Borussia Dortmund over the 29-year-old centre-half Sokratis Papastathopoulos.