Arsenal made the headlines last week by finally signing Thomas Partey, landing their long-term target in a big-money, last-gasp move.
Partey joins Runar Runarsson, Gabriel Magalhaes, Dani Ceballos and Willian as Arsenal’s first-team signings, but there has also been a focus on the club’s youth recruitment.
Nikolaj Duus-Moller, Jonathan Dinzeyi, Salah-Eddine, Tim Akinola and George Lewis have all joined, whilst Omar Rekik is arriving in January.
Another youngster arrived last week, as winger Joel Ideho completed a move from Ajax, which his agent wasn’t happy with according to Ajax Showtime.
Ideho, 17, is known as a speedy winger with real trickery, and he will now be looking to make the grade at Arsenal over the coming years.
Intriguingly, Arsenal weren’t the only Premier League team interested in signing Ideho, with Southampton holding a major interest this year.
Football Oranje reported in May that Southampton wanted to sign Ideho, whilst Voetbal Primeur backed that up last week, suggesting that the Saints were snubbed by the winger.
Ideho was at Willem II at the time, but chose Ajax before leaving early for a move to Arsenal, who will now feel they have a coup.
Southampton’s record with developing young players is so impressive that Arsenal fans may be encouraged by their targeting of Ideho in itself.
Hopefully, Ideho will now become a star at Arsenal, and having seen Liverpool throw plenty of money at Southampton in recent years, the Gunners have tried to save themselves some cash by pipping the Saints to a young talent right now.
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