A teenager who can play wide or in the hole will always attract more than one Premier League club. The deal that lands is usually the one that moves first.
Pre-contracts for 2027 look quiet in September. They matter when the same name sits on a rival’s list.
Academy announcements are how clubs close a race without paying a first-team fee today.
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Sami Mokbel of BBC Sport has confirmed Liverpool tried to sign Andria Bartishvili this summer and lost out to Arsenal. The Gunners announced a pre-contract agreement on 11 September. The 17-year-old is due in north London in July 2027, after he turns 18 in March.
He is on loan at Iberia 1999 from second-division Kolkheti 1913. Georgian football runs on a calendar year, so that loan lasts until December. He has scored twice in the top flight since January. He came through the Dinamo Tbilisi academy that produced Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and has been compared with the Napoli winger for position and style.
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Maurizio Micheli, Arsenal’s head of scouting, watched him play 80 minutes for Iberia 1999 against Flora in a Champions League qualifier before the agreement was struck. Liverpool and Juventus were also in the conversation. Reports of Merseyside interest first surfaced in June.
There is no Premier League registration until next summer. The deal remains subject to regulatory processes. That is standard for a player who is still 17.
Arteta’s senior attack is already the debate after a summer in which Gabriel Martinelli, Leandro Trossard and Gabriel Jesus left and Christos Tzolis arrived. Bartishvili is not the answer to that now. He is the next wave: a winger or number ten who can grow in Hale End while the first team hunt January or 2027 firepower.
Liverpool visit Arsenal’s calendar again on 1 November at Anfield. By then the Georgian will still be playing in Tbilisi. The story for Arsenal supporters is simpler than a failed bid from a rival. Micheli liked what he saw, the club moved, and a player compared with Kvaratskhelia is booked for 2027.
Until he lands at London Colney, it stays a future signing rather than a squad name. Mokbel’s confirmation only adds the detail Liverpool wanted him too.
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta with Mohamed Elneny, Gabriel Magalhaes and Jakub Kiwior
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta with Mohamed Elneny, Gabriel Magalhaes and Jakub Kiwior