Bournemouth youngster Ajani Burchall is believed to be closing on a move to Arsenal.
The Scottish Sun reports that the Gunners are ahead in the race to sign the 16 year-old, who excited prospective suitors this week by rejecting the scholarship offer from his current club.
Burchall is the Cherries’ third youngest every debutant, coming off the bench in December for a three-minute cameo against Huddersfield, before retaining his place on the bench the following weekend against Luton, but hasn’t been seen in the senior setup since.
He could well be the latest future star to make the move to London, with the club having brought in a number of youngsters in recent windows, including Omar Rekik and Nikolaj Moller who are highly rated from their time with their previous clubs.
Burchall will not be allowed to sign a professional contract until his 17th birthday, but 16 year-olds are allowed to sign scholarship deals to join academies in the mean time, although it remains to be seen if the Gunners will convince the youngster to sign.
The Bournemouth youngster is known as a left-winger, and will likely be excited by the possibility of following former academy graduates Hector Bellerin, Emile Smith Rowe and Bukayo Saka into the first-team, although he will need to prove he has the mentality and ability to battle his way up the hierarchy.
Will we see an increase in signings to the academy in the coming windows due to the financial implications that the Coronavirus has had on the big clubs?
Patrick