Arsenal will be hoping to avoid a worst-case scenario in the coming months, as both Myles Lewis-Skelly and Ethan Nwaneri move closer to the end of their contracts at the club.
The Hale End academy duo have both impressed over the 2024/25 season, breaking into the senior side when Mikel Arteta was desperately searching for answers among the injuries and suspensions in his squad.
Myles Lewis-Skelly came through first, featuring as a left-back, despite being a midfielder by trade, inverting into the central spaces with ease.
The Arsenal youngster impressed, but wasn’t the only one, as Ethan Nwaneri joined him in the team shortly after.
Having been Arsenal’s youngest-ever player, it only seemed a matter of time before he was part of Arteta’s plans.
Now, after an impressive season, there have been reports suggesting doubts over whether the pair will be at Arsenal for the long-term future.
Arsenal could get small compensation if Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly leave as free agents
Both Myles Lewis-Skelly and Ethan Nwaneri have just one year remaining on their Arsenal contracts, meaning the club will have to act fast to get a deal done.
Arsenal have been in talks with Lewis-Skelly and Nwaneri over new deals, with plenty of hope that they will extend beyond 2026.
However, recent reports have suggested that Real Madrid want Lewis-Skelly as a free agent if he doesn’t sign, while questions have arisen over Nwaneri’s future, too.
If, in a worst-case scenario, both are to leave, then Arsenal would still receive a small sum as compensation for developing the pair through the Hale End academy.
Football finance expert Adam Williams explained exactly how it works in a conversation with Arsenal Insider, detailing the tribunal process.
“If Arsenal were to lose Nwaneri and Lewis-Skelly on free transfers, the first thing to highlight is that any compensation would obviously be dwarfed by the fees they could have received if they had been able to sell them,” he said on the situation.
“Also, their sales would count as ‘pure profit’ as they are homegrown players and don’t have any amortised book value. Arsenal don’t have PSR issues that require them to make these kinds of sales as it stands, but it’s an interesting factor to consider.
“In terms of compensation, it varies depending on who Arsenal would hypothetically lose the player to. Domestically, the PFCC [Professional Football Compensation Committee] adjudicate on the matter if the two clubs can’t reach a resolution.
“If either Lewis-Skelly or Nwaneri went abroad, it would be covered under FIFA’s Training Compensation mechanism.
“The first thing to note is that the international system isn’t deciding a proxy transfer fee per se. It’s often more about compensating the club for the costs of nurturing the player. Here, it’s a very specific equation they use. If Lewis-Skelly and Nwaneri both went to, say, Real Madrid, Arsenal would be entitled to less than £1.5 million in total, as far as I can tell.
“For that reason, in the event that they knew they weren’t going to sign new deals, Arsenal would hope that they went to another club domestically.
“Under the PFCC scheme, a much broader range of factors are considered. You’re looking at the length of time they’ve spent with the club, development costs, the player’s status and potential, the terms of the contract they’ve been offered by Arsenal, competition for the player’s signature, previous transfer offers, the cost of replacing the player and so on.
“I think the biggest tribunal fee is still Danny Ings from Burnley to Liverpool. That was about £8 million with add-ons. I think, as established first-team players already, you could expect to see Nwaneri and Lewis-Skelly trump that, though not by a massive amount.
Granted, we’re going back nearly a decade, but Ings was already a proven Premier League goalscorer at that stage. I’d say it’s pretty obvious that Nwaneri and Lewis-Skelly have higher ceilings, but there are so many variables in terms of how their careers might work out that would be hard for a tribunal to quantify.
“You’ve also got to factor in the value of the player to the signing club. There’s so much subjectivity involved, and it all gets a little bit esoteric. It would be fascinating to see how it plays out, although I suspect not if you’re an Arsenal fan.”
Andrea Berta must seal Myles Lewis-Skelly and Ethan Nwaneri deals at Arsenal soon
With the summer break now here, Arsenal have time to get the squad in order, with plenty of housekeeping for Andrea Berta to do.
The Gunners will enter the summer transfer window for some new players, but equally important is sealing extensions for those who will be here for the immediate future.
Among those are Lewis-Skelly and Nwaneri, with the summer being the perfect time to get them tied down to new contracts.
It remains to be seen if the sporting director can get that done, but if both are without contracts heading into the new season, the situation could start to get concerning.
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