Arsenal FC
Arsenal FC
Arsenal have reached an agreement to sign young striker Vincent Joseph from Liverpool, the latest development in a busy summer of transfer news. The 16-year-old will leave Anfield after turning down a new contract there. Both clubs are now working out a fee for the move.
Fee talks continue between both clubs
Arsenal and Vincent Joseph have already agreed personal terms for the move to go ahead. As reported by The Athletic, the two clubs still need to settle a fee before the deal is finalised. If they cannot agree, the case will go to a tribunal panel instead. This step is common when a young player switches clubs before signing his first professional contract.
The Professional Football Compensation Committee then sets the fee in such cases, weighing the player’s age and his record on the pitch. It also looks at how long he had spent developing at his old club, along with the standing of both clubs and the terms each side offered during talks.
Joseph’s stats in the 2025-26 season, as per FOTMOB:
Competition Matches Goals
England U16 9 8
Liverpool U18 (Premier League) 2 3
Rise of Vincent Joseph through the youth ranks
Joseph has shown real promise for his age group over the past two seasons. He has scored eight goals in just nine games for England Under-16s, a strong return for any teenage striker. That kind of scoring rate suggests a player who finishes chances with real composure. He also played for Liverpool in the Under-18 Premier League last term, gaining useful experience against older and stronger opponents.
Joseph’s decision not to sign scholarship terms once his contract at Anfield expired ultimately gave Arsenal the opening to agree a move. His record in front of goal at youth level will have played a part in convincing Arsenal to act.
Arsenal’s wider push for young talent
This deal is part of a bigger plan by Arsenal to sign gifted young players across the country. Mylo Bernard, who is also 16, has agreed to join from Crystal Palace on similar terms after his old deal there expired this summer. Both players are moving on training compensation deals, the standard route once a schoolboy contract expires without a scholarship being offered. Arsenal are close to signing Axel Donczew too, a young talent picked up from Cardiff City. Donczew became Cardiff’s youngest-ever player when he made his first-team debut at just 15. He made his debut in the EFL Trophy against Newport County on October 25, aged just 15 years and 234 days.
Arsenal once tried to sign winger Jeremy Monga, but felt Leicester City’s price tag was too high, and he joined Manchester City instead. Leicester had valued Monga at £10 million (around $13.3m), a fee Arsenal felt was too steep for a player yet to make his senior debut. Arsenal’s own academy striker Mishel Nduka also turned down a new contract to join City separately.
Arsenal did, however, sign the 18-year-old Elijah Upson from Tottenham Hotspur this summer. He is the son of former defender Matthew Upson and has now joined the club’s youth ranks. Taken together, these signings point to a clear strategy at Arsenal. The club wants strength in depth at youth level, hoping some of these players break into the first team while others grow in value for future transfer business in English football and the Premier League.