Arsenal could be forced to sell 19-year-old England star Myles Lewis-Skelly this summer to ensure compliance with UEFA spending rules, Daily Mail Sport understands. Gunners fans were left stunned yesterday when it was reported that the club had invited offers for the academy product from Chelsea and Manchester United.
Arsenal insisted they did not invite offers for the player. However, an intermediary is believed to have informed both Premier League clubs that the left-back, who started in last season's Champions League final, would be available at the right price.
While a potential transfer fee of £45 million has been touted, sources with knowledge of the situation believe Arsenal would demand a considerably higher price to consider a sale. Lewis-Skelly is liked by both manager Mikel Arteta and the club's fans.
UEFA spending regulations operate on a calendar year basis rather than by season. Consequently, the summer transfer window is the last opportunity for clubs to generate transfer revenue or ship players out to facilitate new arrivals before the calendar year ends.
Because Lewis-Skelly came through the club's youth academy, any transfer fee received would count as pure profit on the balance sheet. That element of the rules previously led Newcastle United to reluctantly offload Elliot Anderson to Nottingham Forest in July 2024 to comply with Premier League rules.
Arsenal have other players who are viewed as unlikely to play this season, such as Reiss Nelson and Gabriel Jesus, who would depart ahead of Lewis-Skelly in a perfect world. However, the closer the transfer window gets towards closing on September 3 without others leaving, the more the likelihood of Lewis-Skelly departing increases.
Interest from Premier League rivals
Manchester United are in the market for a left-back and are monitoring the situation. Chelsea have completed a £16 million deal for Spanish left-back Pep Chavarría from Rayo Vallecano, but Lewis-Skelly may be an intriguing prospect.
Arsenal signed Bruno Guimaraes from Newcastle United for around £75 million earlier this month. In June, they turned Piero Hincapie's loan move from Bayer Leverkusen into a permanent transfer for £34.5 million, and also paid £34 million for Club Brugge forward Christos Tzolis after spending around £250 million on eight new players last summer.
A spike in commercial activity and prize money from winning the Premier League title and reaching last season's Champions League final boosted Arsenal's financial position, though player bonuses took a sizable chunk out of the coffers. The club has brought in around £41 million from the departures of Leandro Trossard, Jakub Kiwior and Christian Norgaard.
