Arsenal have announced the £7.6m sale of a forgotten man, with attention now turning to rebuffing a cheeky Manchester City raid.
Arsenal announced on Wednesday that 20 players across their men’s and women’s teams would be leaving the club when their contracts expire on June 30. The headline-grabbing names included were Neto, Kieran Tierney, Jorginho and Raheem Sterling.
Neto will return to Bournemouth once his loan concludes, while Tierney will sign with Celtic for a second time. Jorginho is heading to Brazilian side Flamengo, while Sterling returns to parent club Chelsea following a sub-par loan.
Arsenal’s announcement has been followed by another official statement on player movements on Thursday. This time, it involves Arsenal collecting a transfer fee.
The Gunners confirmed Lazio have activated their option to buy loanee Nuno Tavares. The attack-minded left-back has completed a permanent switch to the Serie A side and per Fabrizio Romano, the deal is worth €9m / £7.6m.
Tavares is a player Arsenal had no intention of reintegrating back at the Emirates and the club will be glad to recoup a handy fee.
However, one player they very much don’t wish to lose is academy ace, Max Dowman.
Despite being just 15 years of age, the attacking midfielder has already lit up the international stage with England’s Under-17s.
He’s also outperforming much older prospects at club level, with Dowman incredibly notching 15 goals and five assists in 15 appearances for Arsenal’s Under-18s last season.
14 of those goals came in his last seven appearances of the season in a truly mind-boggling purple patch.
Dowman is widely regarded as perhaps the best prospect Arsenal have produced since Bukayo Saka and ahead of even Myles Lewis-Skelly and Ethan Nwaneri.
However, his rapid rise has not gone unnoticed, with online outlet FootballTransfers stating Man City and Barcelona are hovering.
It’s claimed both sides have made ‘initial approaches’ to prise the teenager out of Arsenal’s Hale End academy.
Understandably, the Gunners are now doing everything within their power to prevent what would be a truly disastrous exit.
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Providing insight into how Arsenal feel and are responding to the situation, the report added: ‘Arsenal are fully aware of the interest and remain relaxed about the situation.
‘The North London club believe they have the right structure, pathway, and philosophy in place to help Dowman thrive – and are committed to integrating him into their long-term plans under Mikel Arteta.
‘Club insiders view Dowman as one of the standout talents of his age group and a potential homegrown star of the future.
‘There’s a clear ambition at Arsenal to turn him into a first-team regular in the years ahead, mirroring the progress of players like Bukayo Saka and Ethan Nwaneri, who have both emerged from the academy ranks to feature at senior level.
‘While Dowman is still in the early stages of his development, Arsenal’s intent is clear: fend off European giants and build the next generation of Gunners superstars from within.’
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