Arsenal are monitoring a promising teenage talent as they consider bringing him to the Premier League in 2024, according to a fresh report.
Edu and Arteta building around young players
The Gunners have five squad members in the building as it stands who are aged 22 and under, with four of those in question being regular features of the first-team set-up, in the form of Jurrien Timber, Bukayo Saka, William Saliba and Gabriel Martinelli, all of whom are expected to be in north London for the long haul.
Mikel Arteta isn’t afraid to hand a chance to up-and-coming talents no matter their date of birth should they deserve the opportunity to prove what they are capable of, so that should encourage their transfer targets when they are thinking about joining.
Arsenal keen to sign player with "huge developmental potential" in January
He’s been on fire this season…
BySean Markus Clifford
Reading attacking midfielder Caylan Vickers has worked his way up through his club’s various youth ranks to get promoted to their first-team, where he’s so far made a total of 18 senior appearances to date (Transfermarkt – Vickers statistics).
The 18-year-old has caught the eye of several elite managers with his impressive performances since stepping up to League One level, and if the following update is to be believed, Edu has been keeping tabs on the prodigy ahead of January.
Arsenal tracking Vickers ahead of January transfer window
According to The Sun, Arsenal are interested in Vickers, even though right now Real Madrid are the club who are in pole position to secure his services in the new year.
“Arsenal have been keeping track of Vickers after he scored and impressed in a 5-2 win over the Gunners' Under-21 team in the Football League Trophy in November.
"However, in a shock move, Real Madrid have moved ahead of Arsenal after opening talks with Reading this week about a January swoop for their talented teenager. Cash-strapped Reading want £1million plus a percentage of any future sell-on deal.”
Vickers is a top prospect for the future
While Arsenal aren’t leading the race to sign Vickers, Arteta will know that he has bags of potential to offer and he’s already been showing that this season at Reading, so the boss and sporting director should fight to try and hijack this deal in the coming weeks.
Ruben Selles’ starlet has posted 19 contributions (ten assists and nine goals) in 53 appearances since the start of his career, which shows the positive impact that he can make in the final third, but he’s also comfortable playing in several areas of the pitch.
The English teenager is a versatile operator having been deployed in seven different positions following his arrival on the professional scene, including everywhere across the frontline and three roles in the midfield, which is an impressive feat for someone so young.
For all of the fantastic qualities that he possesses for someone still with so much room to grow, Vickers would undoubtedly be a wonderful purchase for the long-term future of the club, so it would be a huge coup if he was to have a change of heart regarding the destination of his new home.
