Arsenal have reportedly beaten Manchester United to the signing of Benfica’s 15-year-old goalkeeper Joao Virginia as our academy recruitment drive continues, the Metro reports.
We have signed a number of promising youngsters throughout the summer and it seems as though Virginia is the next in line with the report claiming a deal is close.
According to the Metro, Virginia underwent a trial at Manchester United earlier this year which gave the impression that a deal was done, but it seems as though we’ve stolen a march on our Premier League rivals.
Since the arrival of Andries Jonker, Louis van Gaal’s former assistant at Bayern Munich, the Dutchman has been responsible for strengthening our academy.
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Replacing Liam Brady, it is clear that Jonker wants to add more quality players to our development squads and the number of additions have been interesting.
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Should he sign, Virginia will follow the likes of Jeff Reine-Adelaide, Yasin Fortune, Vlad Dragomir and Ismael Bennacer to London Colney.
It will be intriguing to see whether or not Arsene Wenger includes any of these starlets in his Capital One Cup plans.
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