Arsenal was urged to “settle” one pressing contract situation at Emirates Stadium and avoid replicating the mistakes of its domestic rivals.
In the latest episode of Guardian’s “Football Weekly” podcast, Jonathan Wilson revealed that talk about Myles Lewis-Skelly’s new deal has not progressed smoothly, adding that Real Madrid is hovering as he potentially attempts to infiltrate.
The 26-year-old is expected to sign Trent Alexander Arnold on a free transfer after confirming that she was ejected from Liverpool at the expiration of his contract this month, leaving the gunner at the risk of losing his teenage talent in a similar situation.
Wilson said: “They have to sort out the Miles Lewis Skelly contract, which will expire next summer. From what I’ve heard, I don’t think the lecture is going well.
“Imagine Real Madrid wants to get a fullback of the highly rated Premier League for free. Can you almost imagine it?”
Lewis Skelly rose rapidly at Arsenal
The rapid rise of Lewis Skelly was one of the high points of a disappointing season for Arsenal. Arsenal now spent five years without a trophy and lacked Liverpool in the Premier League title race.
He was thrown into the deep end when he debuted for the Gunners’ first team, which was tied 2-2 by Manchester City last September.
The teenager’s breakthrough campaign also included a start against Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain in the late stages of the Champions League, but Gary Neville and Jamie Carrager recently selected him as the youngest player of the season at the end of the year awards at Sky Sports.
Having seen the fallout from Alexander Arnold’s exit from Liverpool this month, Arsenal would be wise to not let the astounding rise to stardom happen to Lewis Skelly, where it’s more than justifying a new deal.
Andrea Berta will naturally look to the summer transfer window as the Gunners pursue potential blockbuster signatures like Benjamin Cesco, but he also needs to be careful about linking existing assets of interest from European giants like Real Madrid.
Arsenal has multiple contract statuses to organize
Lewis Skelly is not the only player at Emirates Stadium, where his recent future is in the spotlight. The Arsenal Chiefs hope Thomas Party will sign a new deal in the coming weeks.
The longer the 18-year-old situation gets resolved, the more likely it is that as the story surrounding the New Deal continues to utter, it seems that Los Blancos will begin planting ideas in teenagers’ heads.