Southampton’s Jimmy-Jay Morgan is attracting interest from Manchester City, Arsenal and Leeds United after rejecting a professional contract.
According to a report by Daily Telegraph, Arsenal, Manchester City, and Leeds United are vying for Southampton teenage prospect Jimmy-Jay Morgan. The 17-year-old English forward has already rejected a first professional contract from Southampton, who may fight hard to keep hold of the youngster.
Things are not looking good for Southampton in the Premier League as they languish at the foot of the table. The Saints are in danger of relegation if they do not improve their results. There is also the problem of squad depth for Nathan Jones, which has forced him to call up two of the academy boys to make the 20-man squad for games this month.
Jones called two young stars, Jimmy-Jay Morgan and Dom Ballard, to first-team training. He made them part of the 20-man squad for Premier League games. There are serious concerns about Morgan’s future, who is already seen as a future star for the Saints.
While Morgan is yet to make his Premier League debut, the 17-year-old English forward reportedly wants to leave Southampton. He has already rejected a first professional contract offer from the Saints, as they remain worried about losing him to bigger clubs.
News of Morgan’s refusal to commit to Southampton broke out in the media. And Leeds United, Arsenal and Manchester City have all shown an interest in signing the 17-year-old English forward. All these clubs have a great track record of promoting youngsters, which may attract Morgan.
Leeds, for instance, have had a few young stars promoted to the first team in recent years. This season, Crysencio Summerville has taken on the mantle to produce some good performances under Jesse Marsch. Those may prove valuable in attracting young names from elsewhere.
Meanwhile, the young forward may become wary of joining Manchester City. Considering they have Julian Alvarez and Erling Haaland for the long term, it is difficult for any youngster to come in. The two forwards could block the path of young forwards like Cole Palmer, who are struggling for a breakthrough.
Finally, there are Arsenal, who Morgan can think of as a good destination. The Gunners’ recent win over Manchester United had two academy graduates in their front three, and they got all the goals in the game. Morgan can also take solace from the careers young forwards like Bukayo Saka, Eddie Nketiah and Folarin Balogun are having.
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While all three clubs could have a considerable pull on Morgan, the Saints may yet block any deal. Morgan still has 18 months left on his scholarship deal. Hence, Southampton can keep hold of him until then and ward off rival clubs for the time being.
