Arsenal defender Luis Brown is reportedly on trial at West Ham United.
The 18-year-old, who can play at left-back or centre-back, is one of a host of Arsenal youngsters who were recently informed that they will not be getting a professional contract.
According to West Ham Youth, Brown featured for the Hammers’ U18 side in their 4-2 win against Aston Villa last weekend.
Brown’s father Kenny is the West Ham academy manager.
Having progressed all the way through the ranks at Arsenal’s Hale End academy, Brown signed scholarship terms in 2022.
In total he made 31 appearances for the Gunners at U18 level and also made his Premier League 2 debut for the U21s against Southampton as well as being called up in the UEFA Youth League.
In other Arsenal – West Ham Transfer News:
Arsenal striker Eddie Nketiah could be one to watch amid transfer rumours linking him with a move away from the club and possible interest from West Ham United.
Nketiah has struggled for playing time at the Emirates Stadium in recent times, so it perhaps makes sense that there’s now speculation over his long-term future in north London.
Speaking exclusively to CaughtOffside for his latest Daily Briefing column, Fabrizio Romano explained that it’s a bit early to know for sure what’s going to happen with Nketiah, who remains 100% focused on Arsenal.
Still, Romano did say Nketiah’s situation could be one to watch, even if he seemingly doesn’t have much concrete information on links with West Ham for the time being.
Nketiah transfer situation explained by Romano in latest column:
Discussing Nketiah’s Arsenal future, Romano said: “Meanwhile, Arsenal fans are also asking me about the Eddie Nketiah situation as he’s not playing a lot at the moment and there have been some rumours about a possible exit in the summer.
“I’m told it could be one to watch, but honestly West Ham have not started any concrete talks at this stage and it’s very early – Nketiah is 100% focused on Arsenal but it could change in case of new striker joining.”
Nketiah has had his moments for the Gunners but for the long term he’s probably not quite at the right level for a club with this kind of ambition, so it might be that this summer is the right time for all parties to go their separate ways.
It seems Arsenal signing a new striker could be key to this saga, and one imagines Mikel Arteta will surely be keen to add more goals to his squad for next season, with both Nketiah and Gabriel Jesus struggling to establish themselves as 20-25-goal-a-season players, with the latter also having numerous injury problems.