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Liverpool have successfully hijacked Arsenal's transfer deal for the 17-year-old Salford City striker Will Wright, despite the Gunners having a prior verbal agreement with the League Two club. Arsenal had reportedly agreed a £200,000 plus add-ons deal with Salford, but had not finalized personal terms with Wright. Liverpool stepped in and secured a three-year contract with the youngster, who is now undergoing a medical on Merseyside and has chosen to stay in the North West rather than move to London.

Wright made his professional debut for Salford against Manchester City in January and has been a prolific scorer at youth level. This move to Liverpool represents a significant step up, with the player poised to join an elite Premier League academy environment.

The loss of Wright is another blow to Arsenal’s youth recruitment, following previous departures of academy talents like Ayden Heaven and Chido Obi to Manchester United. However, Arsenal continues to see promising prospects emerge, such as Myles Lewis-Skelly, Ethan Nwaneri, and notably 15-year-old Max Dowman, who has impressed in pre-season and is expected to feature peripherally in Mikel Arteta’s team next season. Dowman remains unable to sign professional terms or play in the Premier League until turning 16 later this year and is reportedly attracting interest from top clubs including Real Madrid.

Despite Arsenal’s setback in this transfer, the club’s youth system continues to produce talented players making strides towards first-team football, but the competition from other Premier League clubs like Liverpool remains intense, as exemplified by the successful pursuit of Will Wright.

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