Wenger: Sees Fabianski as a future replacement for Jens
Lehmann
Arsenal are on the brink of concluding a deal for Polish
goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski. The 22-year-old Legia Warsaw keeper
underwent a medical on Tuesday after a fee of around £2m was agreed
and will return to the club on Friday to finalise
details.
Arsenal have completed a £2million deal to sign Polish goalkeeper
Lukas Fabianski from Legia Warsaw, according to the player's agent.
The 22-year-old, who has appeared in friendlies for the national
side, impressed Arsene Wenger during an extended trial at Highbury
in 2004 but opted to return to Poland at that time for more
first-team experience.
Fabianski's agent Martin Wiesner said: "The clubs have done the
deal. There are only a few details left to sort out." The 6ft 3ins
keeper, a key member of Legia Warsaw's Polish champions side in
2005-06, missed training on Tuesday and was left out of last
night's match against Gornik Leczna, having travelled to London to
finalise his move. He has twice won the Polish football award for
best goalkeeper - in 2006 and 2007 - and he has played for his
country four times.
Wenger originally targeted Fabianski when he was 19 and playing for
lowly Third Division outfit Mieszko Gniezmo when he kept five clean
sheets in six games at the UEFA Under-19 tournament. At last year's
World Cup, he was Poland's third-choice goalkeeper behind Celtic's
Artur Boruc and Tomasz Kuszczak, the West Bromwich Albion goalkee
per on loan at Manchester United.
Fabianski is expected to sign a fouryear contract, and will compete
with Manuel Almunia to be Jens Lehmann's understudy in the
37-year-old's final season at the club. Although Lehmann did
eventually sign a one-year extension to his contract last month,
which tied him to the club until summer 2008, he was known to be
unhappy that the club would not break its established policy and
offer him a longer deal.
