Football General Manager
- Arsenal set to sign Salford teenager Wright
- Academy manager Per Mertesacker at the centre of it
- Liverpool beaten in race
Arsenal have reportedly offered £250,000 plus add-ons for striker Wright report The Sun blowing Liverpool’s bid of £100,000 plus add-ons out of the water. Wright only made his first-team debut against Manchester City in January, making two League Two appearances at the back end of last season. His form in pre-season, where he has found the net for Salford four times, has seen the teenager hit the headlines.
The Athletic report that the signing of Wright is an example of Arsenal’s new youth strategy under academy manager Per Mertesacker, who has been given a ‘dedicated budget’ to purchase the best youth talent. Wright comes right under that bracket and will be expected to play for Arsenal’s Under-18 and Under-21 sides if he arrives in north London, with previously rumoured suitors Liverpool believed to be out of the race.
Wright scored over 50 goals across age groups for Salford last season and is in the second year of a scholarship at the club, having been spotted playing for non-league sides Euxton Villa and Fylde. A move to the Emirates would therefore represent a massive step up for the young man.
Wright is likely to feature for Arsenal’s youth sides next season and it may be a couple of years before his name is mentioned around Mikel Arteta’s first-team squad. But the Gunners have offered opportunities to other youth players in recent seasons and so the teenager will hope to get his chance if he impresses at his new club.
