Tottenham Hotspur have reportedly taken the lead over Chelsea and Arsenal in the pursuit of EFL Championship defender Max Aarons.
According to a report from the Daily Mirror, Tottenham Hotspur are leading the chase to sign teenage full-back Max Aarons from Norwich City in the summer transfer window. The 19-year-old is also a transfer target for Spurs’ Premier League rivals Arsenal and Chelsea.
Born in January 2000, Aarons has been on Norwich’s books since 2016, having joined the Canaries from the academy of Luton Town FC. The right-back, who is the cousin of Newcastle United youngster Rolando Aarons, broke into the senior team this season and has established himself as a mainstay in Daniel Farke’s side.
Aarons, so far, has featured in 25 Championship matches, scoring two goals and chalking up four assists as well, helping Norwich’s promotion push. The Canaries are currently the league leaders in the English second division and the 19-year-old has played an important role in their rise to the summit.
Naturally, his performances have attracted a lot of admirers from a string of clubs, with Tottenham being one among them, along with Arsenal, Chelsea and Bundesliga side RB Leipzig.
Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino has Kieran Trippier and Serge Aurier competing for the right-back spot in his team, with youngster Kyle Walker-Peters waiting in the wings.
However, the Lilywhites have made the habit of scouting young English players with great potential. And having been impressed by Aarons this term, they are willing to move in on the teenager in the summer, having not made a single signing in the past two transfer windows.
Their pursuit of the Englishman will be anything but straightforward, however, considering two of their biggest rivals – Arsenal and Chelsea are also monitoring the youngster with great interest.
The right-back slot has been a bit of a problem for Arsenal this term, more so with Hector Bellerin’s season-ending injury. Summer signing Stephan Lichtsteiner has struggled to make much of an impact, while youngster Ainsley Maitland-Niles has struggled for consistency and has had his own injury battles.
A new right-back should be on top of the Gunners’ shopping list in the summer and Aarons could be viewed as someone who can make the spot his own in the coming years at the Emirates.
Chelsea, too, are in the market for a new right-back, having sent Victor Moses out on an 18-month loan spell to Fenerbahce in January. The Blues are understood to be willing to offload Davide Zappacosta as well, as per reports from the Evening Standard.
That would leave Chelsea with Cesar Azpilicueta as the only natural right-back in the squad. And while a move for Napoli defender Elseid Hysaj has been mooted, Chelsea continue to keep an eye out on the progress of the 19-year-old Aarons.
Aarons signed a new contract with Norwich City last October, extending his stay at the club till the summer of 2023. The report claims that the Canaries have no intention of losing their prodigy and have placed a price tag of £15 million to scare off potential suitors.
However, with the bigwigs of England taking a keen interest in the wonderkid, the possibility of a transfer away from Carrow Road in the summer remains a strong possibility for Aarons. It remains to be seen if Tottenham are able to beat their rivals in the race for the teenager’s signing in the summer.
