Myles Lewis-Skelly reaches decision on joining Man Utd from Arsenal for £45m
A comprehensive update has revealed what’s really going on with Myles Lewis-Skelly amid claims he’s been offered to Manchester United and Chelsea, and that Arsenal are willing to sell for just £45m.
Lewis-Skelly, 19, became the centre of attention on Tuesday whenFootballLondon broke news of the Arsenal youngster being ‘offered’ to Man Utd and Chelsea.
Claims of the player being shopped around were subsequently backed up by numerous sources and outlets, including Ben Jacobs, The Guardian, and our own Graeme Bailey.
One reason put forward as to why Arsenal could offload Lewis-Skelly was the arrival of Bruno Guimaraes.
Lewis-Skelly can play at left-back but his strongest position is at the base of midfield. It’s where he lined up in last year’s Champions League final, and where he’s played for the Gunners in pre-season.
With Guimaraes arriving and joining a midfield corps that already contains established stars like Declan Rice, Martin Zubimendi and Mikel Merino, Lewis-Skelly’s outlook with regards to game-time does look bleak.
A report later on Tuesday from The Athletic claimed Arsenal weren’t the ones offering Lewis-Skelly to their ‘Big Six’ rivals.
As such, the only answer is the player was being shopped around by either an agent of Lewis-Skelly’s or intermediaries.
In any case, The Guardian weighed in too, claiming a fee as low as £45m could get Arsenal’s green light.
That claim was rather surprising given The Times stated Arsenal were asking for £60m when Lewis-Skelly was offered to Man Utd originally back in January.
Now, a detailed update from The Athletic has dropped a truth bomb on Lewis-Skelly’s future, and revealed where he’ll play next season.
Full truths on Myles Lewis-Skelly future revealed
Firstly, they gave Lewis-Skelly’s view of the situation, noting he does NOT want to leave Arsenal.
The report declared: ‘Lewis-Skelly, who has been at Arsenal since the age of eight, is unequivocal: he wants to stay.
‘He is neither seeking nor even exploring a move away from the Emirates Stadium.’
As far as updates go, that’s an emphatic one. What’s more, Arsenal have no desire to part ways with the player anyway.
The report added: ‘Arsenal maintain they have not actively offered Lewis-Skelly out for transfer.
‘After his impressive end to last season, he is not someone the club set out to sell in this window.’
The only way in which that stance would change over the final three weeks of the window, per the report, is if Arsenal fail to shift most of those they do actually want to sell.
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Reiss Nelson, Fabio Viera and Gabriel Jesus are up for sale. Any big bids that arrive for Ethan Nwaneri and Gabriel Martinelli would also be considered.
Regarding Man Utd specifically, The Times stated Michael Carrick’s side are ‘not interested’ in signing Lewis-Skelly.
That’s despite the fact he plays either at left-back or as a defensive midfielder, which are the two positions Man Utd are trying to sign players in right now.
Nevertheless, The Athletic’s Man Utd expert, Laurie Whitwell, doubled down on The Times’ claims when insisting there’ll be no move to Old Trafford.
He wrote: ‘United have been offered Lewis-Skelly, though Arsenal say they have not directly offered him to anyone, while the player is keen to stay with them.
‘At United, there is also some scepticism about how much he would cost, with the expectation that £45million would not be enough.
‘The Old Trafford club are targeting a new left-back to alternate with Luke Shaw, because the 31-year-old’s fitness needs to be managed.
‘And as Lewis-Skelly has shown at Arsenal, he can operate at both left-back and in midfield. So in that sense, the 19-year-old would fit the bill.
‘But this reasoning is also why they rate Lewis Hall of Newcastle United and have looked at Real Madrid’s Eduardo Camavinga.’
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