Arsenal legend Tony Adams spoke to Sky Sports about his former side’s failed pursuit of an English wonder kid.
The Gunners boasted of one of the best scouting networks in the world, but that no longer exists. Steve Morrow, our former chief youth scout, was shown the door in November last year, while the head of international scouting Francis Cagigao was also allowed to leave earlier this summer.
Morrow had a fantastic eye for young talent. Adams has revealed that our former scout had a deal in place to bring English wonderkid Jude Bellingham to Arsenal.
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However, Edu’s arrival ended that pursuit, and Adams is livid about missing out on such a talented young boy.
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Adams: Arsenal almost signed Bellingham
He said: “I think it (a deal to sign Bellingham) got lost, this one, in the transition of the chief scout at Arsenal going out. He was spotted very early on, not by me, by the Arsenal recruitment office. The chief scout was absolutely bowled over by him and the great prospect that he is.
“He had more or less done the deal but at that moment the new sporting director Edu came in from Brazil and had no European experience and no UK experience. And I think it got lost in the transition, Edu didn’t know anything about this player. Unfortunately, the chief scout had the deal kind of done.”
“We missed that one, unfortunately. They are the type of players we need to get hold of at the Arsenal if we’re ever going to develop and go forward. These kinds of players we need to tie up and get them to the Arsenal and build a phenomenal league team. He’s a great talent but unfortunately, he’s not joined the right club.”
Bellingham burst onto the scene as a 16-year-old for Birmingham City last season. His impressive performances attracted interest from a number of top English clubs including Arsenal. But, German giants Borussia Dortmund beat the competition to sign him for an initial fee of £25 million in July. (Sky Sports)
The teenager has started the season brilliantly in the Bundesliga and Gareth Southgate has called him up to England national team. He is destined to have a fantastic career – much to the annoyance of Adams and other Arsenal supporters.
