Arsenal have reportedly swooped to sign Salford City striker Will Wright after making a bid that has blown their rivals out of the water for the highly-rated 17-year-old
12:24, 18 Jul 2025
Mikel Arteta
Mikel Arteta has dealt Liverpool a transfer blow
Arsenal are reportedly swooping in to snatch a highly-rated young forward right from under Liverpool's nose.
The Reds were leading the pack to sign Will Wright from Salford City after tabling an offer to the League Two outfit. However, Liverpool have now conceded defeat in the chase for the 17-year-old hotshot as Arsenal have outbid them.
Wright has been turning heads at Manchester City, Brentford, Leicester City and Burnley with his goal-scoring prowess. The towering 6ft 3in striker netted over 50 goals across all levels for Salford last season and has been on a roll in pre-season.
He's already knocked in four goals in friendly matches for Karl Robinson's squad, continuing his rise after making four first-team appearances last term.
But it appears his future is set to veer away from the club owned by Gary Neville and David Beckham. The Sun suggests that Arsenal have put forth a bid of £250,000 plus add-ons for Wright.
Will Wright
Will Wright appears to be Arsenal-bound(Image: Salford City FC)
They're confident this will be enough to secure the young striker, especially as Liverpool's offer was only around £100,000 plus add-ons, reports the Mirror.
Liverpool have now backed out of the deal, drawing parallels to the Martin Zubimendi situation, albeit on a smaller scale. Zubimendi made the switch to the Gunners in a whopping £51million transfer this summer, after a similar move to Liverpool fell through last year.
Salford's gaffer Robinson is fully clued up on the gem he has in his ranks with Wright. After the lad netted both goals in a 2-2 stalemate against FC United of Manchester, Robinson was full of admiration.
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"He's top," he declared. "He's a local lad and one we are incredibly proud of, and he showed all of his qualities today... He's certainly a goal scorer, no doubt about that, we see it every day."
Wright, on the other hand, is buzzing to be getting regular game time up front during pre-season. "I feel great, I'm ready. For all of us, it's a fantastic opportunity," he recently shared.
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"Just to be even playing games, let alone training with the first team.
"Getting the opportunity and gaining the experience and taking things back to the B team and academy where we can influence them and hopefully bring more and more up, hopefully bring more people through and get more debuts."