Report: Arsenal leading the race to sign Everton player

Add as preferred source on Google

According to a report from The Athletic, Arsenal and Manchester United are leading the race to sign Everton teenager Thierry Small this summer.

The Gunners have been heavily linked with a move for the 16-year-old, who is yet to sign a professional contract at Goodison Park. The Express claimed three months ago that Edu is keen to bring Small in, and that he would be available for just about £1 million.

Small has not reported to pre-season training under new Everton boss Rafa Benitez. He is said to be training on his own and it really does seem like he has decided to leave Merseyside for first-team opportunities elsewhere.

At Everton, the teenager has Lucas Digne and Neils Nkounkou ahead of him in the pecking order. As long as the former PSG and Barcelona man is at Goodison Park, there’s no way Small will get regular chances, and that seems to be the biggest reason why he wants to leave.

However, it’s unclear how a move to Arsenal will get him regular game time.

The Gunners have Kieran Tierney as our first-choice left-back and we signed Nuno Tavares last week as well. Arsenal are reportedly leading the race along with United, but first-team opportunities are more unlikely at the Emirates than it is at Everton.

Arsenal target Thierry Small has been compared to Alphonso Davies

The Express claimed three months ago that Small is the best left-back of his age in England and is amongst the best in Europe as well. They also went on to compare the Everton youngster to Bayern Munich superstar Alphonso Davies, which is a humongous compliment.

Small’s marauding style of play is fairly similar to Davies, but he’s nowhere near that level just yet. However, if he can keep his head down and put the work in, the youngster has every chance of becoming one of the best left-backs in England in a few years time.

Read more: Thomas Tuchel absolutely loves ‘very committed’ Arsenal-linked star

Arsenal’s interest in Small is understandable. He is a phenomenal talent, but with Tierney, Tavares and young Joel Lopez available at the Emirates, we can’t see why the Gunners would bring in another left-back this summer.