Arsenal and Fulham have reportedly made progress in talks over goalkeeper Bernd Leno.
The Germany international started the Gunners' first three Premier League games of the 2021-22 season before losing his place in the side to Aaron Ramsdale.
Ramsdale immediately cemented his place as Mikel Arteta's number one, and Leno only made one more Premier League appearance last term.
The 30-year-old did keep a clean sheet in that 1-0 win over Aston Villa, but he has since been pushed further down the pecking order by the arrival of Matt Turner.
With Leno also out of contract in the summer of 2023, Arsenal are keen to offload the shot-stopper for a cut-price fee before he leaves on a free transfer next year.
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A return to the Bundesliga has been mooted for the former Bayer Leverkusen man, but Fulham have long been regarded as the favourites for his signature.
The Cottagers were initially struggling to agree a deal with Arsenal, but according to the Evening Standard, Marco Silva's side are now making progress in talks.
The report claims that Arsenal were refusing to budge on their £10m valuation of Leno at first, but the Gunners are now willing to do business at around the £8m mark.
Leno and his wife are settled in London, and he is believed to be open to the move across the English capital as he aims to continue playing in the Premier League.
The Arsenal man is also pining for a regular game time to boost his chances of making the Germany squad for the 2022 World Cup amid competition from Kevin Trapp, Manuel Neuer and Marc-Andre ter Stegen.
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Leno is expected to leave Arsenal having made 125 appearances for the club since arriving from Bayer Leverkusen for a £22.5m fee in the summer of 2018.
The ex-Stuttgart youngster has kept 37 clean sheets in that time, as well as winning the FA Cup and Community Shield, although Emiliano Martinez played in both finals during his injury layoff.
Arsenal have already let Konstantinos Mavropanos, Matteo Guendouzi and Dan Ballard complete permanent moves away this summer, while Under-23s players Zak Swanson and Omari Hutchinson have also departed.
Leno's fellow shot-stopper Alex Runarsson is also expected to find a new club in the coming weeks, and the same can be said for Pablo Mari, Hector Bellerin, Lucas Torreira and Nicolas Pepe.
A separate report has claimed that Turkish side Fenerbahce are in talks over signing centre-back Mari, who has been heavily involved in an impressive pre-season for the Gunners.
Arsenal have won all five of their summer friendlies so far and will aim to maintain their 100% record in Saturday's Emirates Cup clash with Sevilla.
Ben Knapton
