Arsenal target Jackson Martinez has move to Atletico Madrid confirmed by Porto

The long-running transfer saga involving Jackson Martinez finally appears to have reached its conclusion, with FC Porto revealing that Atletico Madrid have agreed to pay the long-term Arsenal target's €35m (£24.8m) release clause in order to take him to the Vicente Calderon this summer.

After being repeatedly linked with the prolific striker during several previous transfer windows, reports from The Mirror earlier in June claimed that Arsene Wenger would sanction a move for Martinez in the event that the likes of Lukas Podolski, Yaya Sanogo and Joel Campbell were all successfully moved on by the club.

As it stands, however, all three of that aforementioned trio remain at Arsenal and the Colombian international appeared to end any lingering hopes that he could yet move to the Emirates Stadium by confirming on Saturday (27 June) that he had reached agreement on a contract to join Atletico.

Speaking after his agent Luiz Henrique Pompeo had already made it known that the two parties had reached an accord, Martinez told Spanish daily AS: "I can confirm I am going to Atletico. I am going there for four years but I still don't know when I will be introduced.

"I have had great progression, always learning, always growing and now I'm going to Atlético where I hope to help the team and continue to grow as a player."

Despite both Martinez and his representative confirming the deal, neither Porto nor Atletico sought to do likewise until the former eventually released a statement on their official website clarifying the financial details.

"This Tuesday, Atletico Madrid informed FC Porto that they will pay the release fee for player Jackson Martínez, worth €35m," Porto said.

"The Colombian striker has been at FC Porto for three seasons, having played 136 official matches and scored 92 goals. He was the best striker of the Portuguese League during those three seasons, with 26 goals scored in 2012/13, 20 in 2013/14 and 21 in 2014/15."

Shortly after acknowledging the imminent departure of Martinez, Porto provided swift consolation for supporters by announcing the arrival of highly-rated French midfielder Giannelli Imbula from Marseille.

Imbula had previously been mentioned with regard to a possible move to Tottenham Hotspur, with The Mirror even suggesting that they were prepared to offer Benjamin Stambouli as part of the deal.

A switch to White Hart Lane is now out of the question, though, with the 22 year old moving to the the Primeira Liga on a five-year contract for a €20m fee.