Arsenal CEO sends mixed Myles Lewis-Skelly transfer messages to Man Utd, Chelsea
Arsenal CEO Richard Garlick has sent a message to the likes of Manchester United and Chelsea over the chances of Myles Lewis-Skelly leaving before the summer transfer window shuts, while also commenting on the future of Ethan Nwaneri.
The reigning Premier League champions have had a relatively quiet window to date, with Bruno Guimaraes and Christos Tzolis their most notable signings, while also completing a permanent deal for Piero Hincapie.
While signing a new attacker remains in the pipeline, any slim hopes of looking to lure Julian Alvarez from Atletico Madrid now look to be completely dead, following Diego Simeone’s latest comments.
In recent days, however, there have been more discussions surrounding players who could leave Arsenal before the window closes, with talk of Viktor Gyokeres potentially being replaced by Victor Osimhen.
But one player who remains a top target for Man Utd and Chelsea is England international Lewis-Skelly, with the Gunners tipped to offload the versatile midfielder, along with Nwaneri in order to raise funds for further signings.
Nwaneri continues look the most likely to depart, given he was omitted from the matchday squad for Sunday’s Community Shield win over Manchester City, during which Lewis-Skelly gave another outstanding display in his preferred central midfield role.
The 19-year-old has been linked with a high-profile move to two of Arsenal’s biggest Premier League rivals, with a more than reasonable fee of £45million reported to be the asking price.
But, when asked about Lewis-Skelly’s future by talkSPORT, Garlick appeared to put any talk of an exit to bed, revealing: “Obviously there may be speculation, I’m not going to go into that from other clubs but we’re very happy with Myles and the position he’s in at the club.”
DON’T MISS: Man Utd joined by Arsenal in race for £30m-rated Brazilian striker as scouts left stunned
Arsenal CEO leaves door open to Lewis-Skelly, Nwaneri exits
In a subsequent interview with the BBC, however, Garlick appeared to leave the door open to both Lewis-Skelly and Nwaneri moving on, if it was in the best interests of both players and the club receive suitable offers.
He said: “We obviously believe in our academy and have been very successful with the players that have come through that academy, Myles and Ethan being two of those.
“Everybody loves to see those homegrown players coming through and pulling on the shirt and contributing to the success of the team.
“It’s not something that we aim to just sell only homegrown players, as I say trading players is something that comes up all the time. There’s been a lot of speculation surrounding players. I can’t stop other clubs being interested in our players.
“I think Myles has had a fantastic end to last season and he’s started this season really well and we are very very happy with him.
“Ethan’s had a great pre-season as well and it’s just a case of looking at what opportunities there are that will help both of those players in terms of their careers moving forwards but we are not actively looking at selling those homegrown players.
“If the right opportunity came up and it was right for them and it was right for the club then we’d obviously consider that.”
Nwaneri’s exit in particular tallies with what Fabrizio Romano is saying about the Galatasaray and AC Milan target. The 19-year-old is also a target for Premier League clubs, but looks more likely to head abroad at this stage.
