Arsenal are reportedly preparing an offer for Blackburn Rovers starlet Harvey Higgins.
According to Football Insider, the forward is attracting interest from the Premier League club ahead of the summer transfer window.
Higgins has earned a strong reputation as one of the most promising young stars in English underage football.
While he has yet to feature for the Lancashire outfit’s senior team, he has been given an opportunity to impress at U21 level.
Arsenal eye Blackburn underage talent
Valerian Ismael + West Brom
Arsenal are readying an offer to sign Higgins as they look to bolster their youth ranks given their recent success in this area.
It was previously reported by The Sun that the likes of Chelsea, Manchester City and Liverpool were all monitoring his progress.
But the Gunners are now looking to steal a march, as they seek a replacement for Chido Obi-Martin, who departed their underage ranks for Manchester United in January.
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Mikel Arteta has earned a reputation for giving young players a chance, bringing through Ethan Nwaneri and Miles Lewis-Skelly this season amid their significant injury issues.
Higgins has already been capped internationally at U16 level, playing for England, with his reputation growing all the time, even earning comparisons to Jamie Vardy.
However, it remains to be seen whether he would be open to a move to Arsenal at this point in his career, with Blackburn having a strong reputation for giving academy talent first-team opportunities.
Blackburn Rovers’ Championship status
Championship standings 2024-25 (As of March 28th)
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8
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Valerien Ismael is currently in charge at Ewood Park, with the club chasing a play-off place in the Championship.
Rovers have dropped to ninth in the table with recent poor results under the new manager, but are still only five points adrift of sixth-place West Brom.
Next up for Blackburn is a trip to Fratton Park to face Portsmouth on Saturday in a 3pm kick-off.
Losing Higgins would be a blow for Blackburn
Adam Wharton
Blackburn’s academy system has done a great job of producing exciting talent in recent years, with no better example than Adam Wharton.
Losing Higgins before he could even play in the senior team would be a blow, even if it is a great sign for their continued ability to bring through players.
But the opportunity to join Arsenal will be very tempting, especially as they’ve become a great pathway to the first team at underage level again in recent years.
Losing Higgins at this stage also means Blackburn are unlikely to get much of a fee for him, when he could go on and become an eight-figure player if he lives up to his potential at Ewood Park down the line, based on what happened with Wharton.