Arsenal have been urged to ‘sort out’ one pressing contract situation at the Emirates Stadium and avoid replicating the mistake of a domestic rival.
On the latest episode of The Guardian’s ‘Football Weekly’ podcast, Jonathan Wilson revealed that talks over a new deal for Myles Lewis-Skelly haven’t been progressing smoothly, adding that Real Madrid are hovering as they seek to potentially pounce.
Los Blancos are expected to sign Trent Alexander-Arnold on a free transfer after the 26-year-old confirmed his exit from Liverpool this month upon the expiry of his contract, and the Gunners could be at risk of losing their teenage talent in similar circumstances.
Wilson said: “They’ve got to sort out Myles Lewis-Skelly’s contract, which expires next summer. I think talks have not been going well, from what I hear, and Real Madrid are sort of sniffing around there.
“Imagine Real Madrid wanting a highly-rated Premier League full-back for free – almost unimaginable, isn’t it?”
Myles Lewis-Skelly will soon enter the final year of his contract at Arsenal
Talks over a new contract for Myles Lewis-Skelly are believed to be ‘not going well’ (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)
Lewis-Skelly has had a rapid rise at Arsenal
The rapid rise of Lewis-Skelly has been one of the high points of a disappointing season for Arsenal, who’ve now gone five years without a trophy and fell well short of Liverpool in the Premier League title race.
Thrown in at the deep end when debuting for the Gunners’ first team in the 2-2 draw away to Manchester City last September, the 18-year-old memorably scored in a 5-1 rout in the reverse fixture four months later and also netted on his England debut in March.
The teenager’s breakthrough campaign also included starts against Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain in the latter stages of the Champions League, while both Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher selected him as their Young Player of the Season in their end-of-year awards on Sky Sports‘ MNF recently.
Having seen the fallout from Alexander-Arnold’s exit from Liverpool this month, Arsenal would be wise not to allow the same to happen to them with Lewis-Skelly, whose phenomenal ascent to stardom would more than warrant a new contract.
Andrea Berta will naturally have eyes on the summer transfer window as the Gunners pursue potential blockbuster signings such as Benjamin Sesko, but attention must also be paid to tying down their existing assets in the face of interest from European giants like Real Madrid.
Arsenal have multiple contract situations to sort out
Lewis-Skelly isn’t the only player at the Emirates Stadium whose future has been in the spotlight lately, with Arsenal chiefs hopeful that Thomas Partey will sign a new contract in the coming weeks.
The longer that the 18-year-old’s situation goes unresolved, the likelier it seems that Los Blancos could begin to plant ideas in the teenager’s head if talks over a new deal continue to stutter.