Arsenal have joined Scottish heavyweights Celtic, Rangers in the race to sign Wigan Athletic starlet Kyle Joseph in the summer transfer window.
According to a report from the Mirror, Premier League giants Arsenal have entered the race to sign Wigan Athletic’s teenage prospect Kyle Joseph, who is also on the radars of Scottish clubs Celtic and Rangers.
The 19-year-old came through the youth ranks at Wigan and made his breakthrough at the first-team level in the ongoing campaign. Joseph has made a decent impression, bagging five goals in 14 League One matches for the Latics, along with a solitary assist.
Joseph, who was born in London, represents the Scotland national team at the youth levels and has made six appearances for the Under-19s, scoring one goal in the process. Even though the teenage striker is still in the nascent stages of his career, there is a lot of interest surrounding him.
One of the main reasons behind the interest is that Joseph is in the final few months of his current contract with Wigan Athletic and will be available on a free transfer at the end of the season. This has put a number of clubs in the United Kingdom on alert, with Celtic and Rangers said to be keen on signing him.
Now, Arsenal too have been credited with an interest in the young Latics’ forward. The aforementioned report claims that the Gunners have been monitoring Joseph for quite some time now, along with a few other Premier League clubs and are now set to launch a move to sign him in the summer.
As things stand, Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has quality options in front in the likes of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette while academy products Eddie Nketiah and Folarin Balogun provide cover in the centre-forward slots.
However, the north London giants are looking at the possibility of offloading both Lacazette and Nketiah in the summer, In addition, Balogun’s deal with the Gunners runs out at the end of the campaign and the young forward has also been linked with an exit from the club.
So, adding some depth at the top of the attack could become imperative for Arteta & co. in the summer, making Joseph a viable option. While he may not be able to make the greatest impact at the first-team level immediately, he can act as a backup to the senior names, like Nketiah has been doing this term and grow into a bigger role gradually.
It remains to be seen if the Gunners do act on their interest in Joseph come the end of the season. With Celtic and Rangers also waiting to pounce, along with a few other Premier League clubs, Arsenal will need to be swift to strike a deal to sign the teenager.