Arsenal are eyeing a move for a Tottenham academy player.
Elijah Upson, son of former Arsenal and England centre-back Matthew Upson, is set to leave Tottenham upon the expiry of his contract this summer.
According to The Athletic, Arsenal are interested in signing the 18-year-old defender, who was a regular for Spurs’ under-18 side last season and even featured for their under-21s.
Upson was offered a professional contract by Tottenham but chose not to sign it, opting to explore his options elsewhere.
That decision has opened the door for Arsenal, and the Premier League champions have wasted no time in registering their interest.
Moves between the two north London rivals are extraordinarily rare. When they do happen, they tend to be remembered for a very long time.
Sol Campbell is of course the most notable example — the former Spurs captain crossed the divide in 2001 after his contract expired, having made over 250 appearances for the club.
Be honest: Have you ever seen a more shocking transfer in football than Sol Campbell joining Arsenal?
His decision did not go down well at White Hart Lane, to put it mildly, but he went on to become an Arsenal legend, winning two league titles and three FA Cups.
Upson’s situation is obviously different in scale but similar in nature. Spurs will have little control over where the player goes, and Arsenal are clearly not shy about exploiting that.
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The move for Upson is part of a larger push to strengthen Arsenal’s youth talent pipeline following Per Mertesacker’s departure as academy manager this summer.
A move for Leicester’s Jeremy Monga is accelerating with personal terms agreed, and the Gunners are also understood to be pursuing PSG Under-19s captain Emmanuel Mbemba.
Arsenal have also been active in recruiting from Ireland, bringing in highly-rated teenager Victor Ozhianvuna and potentially Maxim Afonin from Shamrock Rovers.
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Ecuadorian twins Edwin and Holger Quintero have also agreed pre-contracts to join Arsenal in August 2027.
The Premier League champions are clearly putting more stock into investing in youth, as they look to build one of the most exciting academies in Europe.
Whether Elijah Upson follows in his father’s footsteps at Arsenal remains to be seen, but the club are clearly keen to make it happen.
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