Arsenal have seen a first-team star linked with a move away.placeholder image
Arsenal have seen a first-team star linked with a move away. | Getty Images
Arsenal may face transfer interest from overseas in a first-team star this summer
Premier League leaders Arsenal had a fairly quiet January transfer window, deciding not to add to Mikel Arteta’s first-team squad after going big last summer.
The Gunners are six points clear at the top of the league table and also finished top of the Champions League opening phase, with their squad strong enough to get by without additions at present – though Arteta did confirm on deadline day that the club had been looking at potential short-term replacements for the injured Mikel Merino.
Ethan Nwaneri departed on loan for Marseille this month in search of more game time, while Oleksandr Zinchenko left permanently for Ajax after previously being out on loan at Nottingham Forest. Otherwise, Arteta ensured to keep his squad together as his side look to go all the way this term.
Myles Lewis-Skelly ‘on the radar’ of Real Madrid
Arsenal may be faced with interest in Myles Lewis-Skelly next summer, as Fichajes report that Real Madrid have the 19-year-old ‘on their radar’ and are considering a stunning move for the Hale End academy graduate at the end of the season.
Lewis-Skelly has been linked with Los Blancos previously and has found first-team minutes hard to come by this term, making just one Premier League start amidst the strong form of Riccardo Calafiori and a decrease in the amount of trust placed by Arteta in the England international.
Reporting from Spain notes that Real Madrid are aware of the uncertainty faced by Lewis-Skelly at the Emirates and may use this in their bid to swoop for the player, who is viewed as an ‘ideal’ replacement for the outgoing Ferland Mendy to compete with Alvaro Carreras at left-back. His ability to play in midfield is also noted, while Lewis-Skelly is touted as one of the ‘young Galácticos’ of the future.
Lewis-Skelly will not come cheap, though. A price of €60million (£51.7m) is cited by Fichajes, who claim Real Madrid view this price tag as ‘fair’ due to the ‘immense technical quality’ of the teenager.
Lewis-Skelly saw a rapid rise to prominence last term
The reduction in impact which Lewis-Skelly has had on Arsenal this season has been somewhat unforeseen after how rapidly he broke onto the scene last campaign. Aged just 18 at the time, he made 26 starts in all competitions and even scored on his full England debut in March 2025.
His physical attributes relative to his young age were particularly praised. Former Arsenal midfielder Adrian Clarke branded Lewis-Skelly’s use of his body as “remarkable”, while adding that is it “ridiculous” that the teenager was only outdone by Forest’s Nikola Milenkovic in terms of a higher duel success rate in 2024/25.
Fichajes adds that Lewis-Skelly is ‘not only a defender but an elite midfielder capable of dominating world football’, while they claim that he has ‘global projection’ which he may be able to fulfil at Real Madrid.
With such glowing praise from all corners it is a mystery why Lewis-Skelly has seen his first-team opportunities so limited at Arsenal this season, even while the club has faced injury issues at full-back. It is unlikely that the club will seek to let him go, nevertheless, but it will make interesting viewing to see whether Real Madrid make a proposal in summer 2026 which neither player nor club can refuse.
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