Manchester United under INEOS are no longer interested in big-name stars but are looking to unearth the next big superstar as seen from their summer deal for Leny Yoro.
Aggressive academy recruitment is also underway as seen from deals for Samuel Lusale, Sekou Kone as well ex-Arsenal prodigy Chido Obi.
And it seems the 17-year-old might not be the only Arsenal academy graduate to make the move from The Emirates to Old Trafford if TBR Football is to believed.
The Gunners’ 18-year-old centre-back Ayden Heaven has rejected a fresh approach from his club over extending his stay at North London.
Another Arsenal product could be on his way
Mike Arteta’s side had offered him fresh terms last year as well, but the England U19 international did not sign on the dotted lines.
His current deal is valid until 2025 and his reluctance to sign a new deal at Arsenal has meant United, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, and Newcastle United are all monitoring proceedings with interest.
There is also foreign interest from the likes of Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, Bayer Leverkusen, Napoli and Marseille but Arsenal remain confident of keeping hold of their highly-rated defender.
“TBR Football correspondent Graeme Bailey understands Arsenal are in danger of losing Ayden Heaven after he rejected fresh attempts from the club to tie him down to a professional deal.
“Premier League rivals Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United and Newcastle United are all showing an active interest in the England youth international.
“Arsenal have so far failed to convince Heaven to sign his first professional deal despite offering him terms last year. He was offered another deal when he turned 18 in September, but that has also gone unsigned to this point.
United interested in Heaven
“We can reveal that foreign interest in Heaven is also strong with Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, Bayer Leverkusen, Napoli and Marseille all keen to talk to him.”
Heaven has been on the Gunners bench thrice in the Premier League this season, twice in the last month and made his debut in the Carabao Cup, coming on for the last ten minutes in their win over Preston.
The lack of a proper pathway to the first team had seen Chido Obi leave and Heaven could follow unless his gametime dramatically increases. United certainly have a vacancy on the left side and that makes Old Trafford an attractive destination.
The youngster is left-footed, an extremely attractive profile, and can double up as a left-back and left wingback, something that will be attractive to Ruben Amorim.
Arteta has been extremely complimentary of the teenager and it will be interesting to see if INEOS can once again prise away an elite talent from their rivals.
Feature image Warren Little via Getty Images
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Ayantan Chowdhury
Ayantan has worked for 10 years in the Indian sports media industry, writing for the biggest newspapers and websites but his heart was always set on writing about his favourite club. Currently an editor at The Peoples Person. You can follow him on X: @ayantanc_25
