Mauricio Pochettino is eyeing a Chelsea swoop for highly rated Arsenal teen Ethan Nwaneri during the summer transfer window.
What’s the latest on Ethan Nwaneri to Chelsea?
That’s according to The Evening Standard, who claim that Chelsea, alongside Manchester City, are fighting it out to land the teen sensation during the transfer window.
His schoolboy registration runs out on Friday, meaning the Gunners have until then to agree scholarship terms with the 16-year-old and they face competition from the Blues and City, with the report indicating that these are the two clubs who are renowned for being the highest payers when it comes to academy talents.
With Arsenal making an offer to Nwaneri, it will be up to Pochettino to improve on that and outline his thoughts for the youngster over the coming years.
Who is Ethan Nwaneri?
The teen starlet made his Arsenal debut aged just 15 last September against Brentford, becoming the youngest-ever player to make their Premier League debut in the process.
He was lauded as a “wonderkid” by talent scout Jacek Kulig following this momentous occasion, whilst his former Arsenal U18s coach Dan Micciche also lavished praise on the teen after his impressive debut for the U18s against Reading, saying:
"He's someone very highly thought of here as there are other boys at Hale End as well.
"I trusted him to perform today and he got two assists. Knowing him, he will leave here disappointed that he has not scored a goal or he's misplaced a few passes because he's got that champion mentality."
This mentality could stand the 5 foot 10 gem in good stead and if he did make the move to the Stamford Bridge outfit, he could very well become the next Ashley Cole.
Having emerged from Hale End, Cole went onto become the first-choice left-back under Arsene Wenger between 2000 and 2006, before departing the club to join Chelsea in the summer of 2006.
He made over 200 appearances for the Gunners, but the lure of money and chances of winning the Champions League were too much to turn down for the 107-cap star and although Cole was one of the finest defenders in Europe when he left Arsenal, Pochettino will be aiming to pinch another talented player off the club in the form of Nwaneri this summer.
The move could turn heads, yet over the coming years, it may very well pay dividends for the Argentinian as he aims to significantly bolster the young talent available to him at Chelsea and in Nwaneri, they have one of the most promising gems in England.