Chelsea have reportedly been offered the chance to sign Myles Lewis-Skelly this summer, according to Football London.
The 19 year old spent much of last season on the bench, but after an impressive late season display in midfield against Fulham, he kept his place for the Champions League semi-final second leg against Atletico Madrid, and the final against PSG in Budapest, doing well on the night despite the heartbreaking defeat.
However, the midfield is a packed place these days, made even more so by the £75m arrival of Bruno Guimaraes from Newcastle. Much like the previous season, Lewis-Skelly has impressed, only to see Arsenal sign a player to play in the same position. When he broke through at left-back in the 24-25 campaign, the Gunners then brought in Piero Hincapie, and this summer the Brazilian international is another impediment to his game time.
With Guimaraes, Declan Rice, Mikel Merino, Martin Zubimendi, Martin Odegaard, Eberechi Eze and Ethan Nwaneri all on the books as well as Lewis-Skelly, a sale in that area wouldn’t be a surprise, but many had tipped his fellow Hale End graduate (Nwaneri) as the most likely departure.
Lewis-Skelly was also linked with Manchester United last week, which suggests there may be things going on behind the scenes with regards his future that might well frustrate Arsenal fans who see him as a key part of the squad. Let’s see how it plays out.
Update: In The Athletic, James reports that Myles wants to stay, and continue to establish himself at Arsenal.
Meanwhile, according to The Athletic (£), Arsenal and West Ham are in talks over Reiss Nelson whose annual summer ‘Where will he go and when?’ adventure is now in full swing. He’s had loan spells at Fulham and Brentford in the last two seasons, but a total of 26 appearances in those two campaigns – with just 9 starts – tells its own story.
At 26, perhaps dropping down a division to play for a club who would be one of the favourites for promotion is what he needs to kick start a career which has never quite lived up the early potential.