Sporting Kansas City has agreed to terms on a contract with Arsenal midfielder Gedion Zelalem pending a physical, sources confirmed to ESPN FC’s Jeff Carlisle.
According to the Kansas City Star, Zelalem will attend Sporting KC’s game against the Philadelphia Union on Sunday, with the 22-year-old expected to sign a one-year deal with club options for a further two years. The Washigton Post first reported a deal had been reached on Saturday night.
Zelalem, who was born in Germany and moved to the United States as a child, made a splash when he joined the academy of Premier League giants Arsenal in 2013 at age 15.
He made his debut for Arsenal’s senior team in January 2014 but only made three more appearances for his parent club while also playing on loan for Rangers in Scotland and Dutch club VVV-Venlo.
Although, he hasn’t yet appeared for the United States senior national team, Zelalem played for the U.S. at the Under-20 World Cup in both 2015 and 2017. However, he suffered a major knee injury in the latter tournament that sidelined him until last year.
With Zelalem’s Arsenal contract set to expire this summer, Sporting KC will not pay a transfer fee to the English club, the Star reported.