Arsenal are said to be closing in on the signing of Bolton and England Under-21 international Rob Holding. The 20-year-old has been linked with the Gunners for a while now and looks set to finally make the move to North London.
Holding was voted as the club's Player of the Season and was part of the title-winning English team that won the Toulon tournament earlier this summer. Holding is capable of playing as both a centre-back and a full-back but is most comfortable as the former.
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Having made 30 appearances for the Trotters last season, Holding will move to Arsene Wenger's team hoping to seal down a starting spot alongside the likes of Laurent Koscielny or Gabriel Paulista. Per Mertesacker is currently the senior most centre-back squad but like we saw last year, the German is going to have to settle for a place on the bench this time around as well.
Arsenal have said to have had a bid in the region of £2 million accepted by Bolton for the youngster's services who has reportedly since flown to London to finalise financial terms and more clarity on what he's to expect once signing for the Gunners.
Holding joined Bolton aged seven and made his first-team debut in the Capital One Cup last August. He's since made a host of appearances for the Bolton first team outlining his obvious talent – having scouts from England's top clubs further showed how impressive a talent he is.
The interest in the 20-year-old started way back immediately after the end of the domestic season with then-interim Wanderers boss Jimmy Phillips confirming it. "I was asked by the board of directors not to play him," Phillips told The Bolton News back in May.
"It would appear some clubs are interested in him somewhere down the line."
