According to The Athletic, Arsenal have agreed a deal with Salford City for teenage striker Will Wright.
The 17-year-old is set to join the Gunners for a fee in the region of £200,000 plus add-ons, after the club saw off competition from Liverpool.
Wright has made two appearances in League Two and featured briefly in Salford’s 8–0 FA Cup defeat to Manchester City in January. He’s expected to bolster Arsenal’s attacking ranks at both under-18 and under-21 level following the departures of Nathan Butler-Oyedeji and Khayon Edwards.
It’s also been widely reported that Per Mertesacker is exploring a move for Blackburn Rovers forward Igor Tyjon. The 17-year-old England youth international has been offered a professional deal at Ewood Park but is yet to commit, with several Premier League clubs said to be circling.
Should he stay, Tyjon is expected to be promoted to Blackburn’s first-team squad. At Arsenal, by contrast, he would likely continue his development within the academy structure.
Recruiting strikers at youth level is never an exact science, and the pathway to senior football at the Emirates is notoriously challenging.
While Eddie Nketiah made the grade after signing from Chelsea, and Mika Biereth’s move from Fulham eventually paid dividends via his move to Sturm Graz (and the activation of a sell-on clause when he joined Monaco), recent history is peppered with recruits who struggled to make the step up to senior football.
That’s not to say Wright won’t, but it’s worth keeping expectations in check.