Arsenal face battle to keep teenage striker Chido Obi-Martin, with Bayern Munich one of the clubs interested in luring him away, according to the Telegraph.
The 16-year-old is attracting interest from several clubs having bagged 28 goals in 16 games for the Under-18s, He netted seven against Norwich City in their 9-0 victory last weekend.
Obi-Martin also made the headlines after scoring ten goals for Arsenal Under-16s against Liverpool last November, and it is unsurprising that Bayern are keeping tabs on him.
The Denmark youth international cannot sign a professional deal at Arsenal until he turns 17 in November under the Football Association’s rules, and the Gunners are in talks with his representatives.
They cannot afford to lose such a player given his huge potential, but nothing is guaranteed and Bayern will hope to tempt him with a juicy offer in the summer.
Professional deals can be signed in Germany at 16, and the promise of a quicker pathway to first-team football is also often guaranteed.
Arsenal will hope they can convince Obi-Martin that he has a future at the club, but that will be dependent on whether he is patient enough to wait for his chances.
Hale End graduate Ethan Nwaneri became the youngest player in Premier League history last season and has played just once for the first-team since then.
Manager Mikel Arteta has regularly called up teenagers for training sessions, and some have made the first-team matchday squad.
However, chances have been few and far between for them as Arsenal have been challenging strongly across all competitions, making it difficult for the managers to field kids.
Obi-Martin will hope he can do enough to fast-track his progress into the first-team, but Bayern will keep monitoring his situation and will be ready to pounce once there is a chance to do so.
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