Medical Ongoing: £140million elite Premier League striker is currently undergoing medical to join Arsenal, Personal terms agreed and shirt number already leaked
Arsenal defender Myles Lewis-Skelly has been linked with a move to Real Madrid and alarm bells should be ringing around the Emirates Stadium.
The Galacticos clearly mean business this summer, having been knocked out of the Champions League by the Gunners themselves and missing out on the La Liga title to bitter rivals Barcelona. Carlo Ancelotti has left the club and Xabi Alonso has arrived.
Already, Real Madrid have convinced Liverpool legend Trent Alexander-Arnold to leave Anfield and sensational rumours keep on coming. Defensa Central suggests that Manchester City linchpin Rodri could be the next target for the Spanish outfit with Mail Sport naming Lewis-Skelly as another on the shopping list.
Real Madrid targeting Myles Lewis-Skelly
Obviously, Arsenal cannot let that happen and risk being put in a position where their hand could be forced. Lewis-Skelly has just one year left on his contract, signed in October 2023.
That means that in 12 months the 18-year-old could leave as a free agent. That would be an absolute disaster for the Gunners. Still a teenager and looking very comfortable on the biggest stage, Lewis-Skelly is of a stratospheric financial value to the club.
If representatives from Real Madrid start talking to the player and turning his head, the full-back could leverage that position to push through a sale with the threat of leaving as a free agent. While that money could be reinvested, it’s also the statement that Arsenal want to avoid.
If the north London club means business against European biggest and best, harbouring hopes of Champions League glory, they cannot let their rising stars leave so soon. It sends a message to other players that there is better elsewhere and could have a knock-on effect to recruitment.
Lewis-Skelly is a brilliant player too. Losing the defender would mean having to find a replacement and, despite his tender age, recruiting someone in the market with his same skillset is a tricky mission.
Arsenal hope to land new contract agreement with defender
Mail Sport adds that Arsenal are ‘not worried’ about losing the player to the Bernabeu and that chiefs are ‘confident’ that a new deal will be agreed before the start of the 2025/26 campaign, with a significant pay increase thought to be enough to ensure his development continues at the Emirates Stadium.
With talk of Real Madrid interest and a bumper salary, it’s easy to forget that Lewis-Skelly is not yet the finished product. The defender was sent off against Wolves and West Ham (although the first was then rescinded) and can get caught up in the emotion of big matches – but it’s a reminder of how much more is to come.
Speaking about the player towards the end of the season, Arteta said: “His attention to detail is incredible. I love to learn, so learning from him and the way he handles and approaches the games… it’s fascinating. There’s so much I can take from him.”
Lewis-Skelly is very much the answer for now and for the future for Arsenal. Losing the player to Real Madrid would be a disaster on the pitch and send a bad message off it. The Gunners may be cool about that contract agreement happening, but it must now take full priority.
In other news, Fabrizio Romano says Andrea Berta and Arsenal are about to miss out on ‘the best’ transfer target.
