Arsenal have opened talks for winger James Scanlon, 19, and right-back Habeeb Ogunneye, 20, as part of a youth recruitment push the club is confident will land both signings this summer, reports the Telegraph.
Scanlon, who joined United from Derby County in 2021, already has 24 caps for Gibraltar through his mother's nationality and spent the back half of last season on loan at Swindon Town; he is understood to have agreed personal terms with Arsenal on a two-year deal, with the option of a third.
Ogunneye's route has been different but no less productive. A product of Manchester United's academy who made 21 appearances on loan at Newport County before being recalled in January, he has already featured in matchday squads for the senior side, including United's FA Cup semi-final win over Coventry City in 2024.
The pursuit of Scanlon and Ogunneye sits alongside a broader Arsenal target elsewhere at Old Trafford's expense โ the club are growing confident of agreeing a deal for Aston Villa's Ezri Konsa โ and forms just one strand of an unusually active summer for the club's academy department. Elsewhere, a move for Cardiff City's Axel Donczew, the 16-year-old who became his club's youngest ever player at 15 years and 234 days old, is close to being finalised.
Arsenal are also nearing a deal for Liverpool's England youth international Vincent Joseph, 16, though a fee has yet to be settled, while Crystal Palace's Mylo Bernard, also 16, remains on the club's radar as another potential striking addition.
One deal has already gone through. Elijah Upson, the 18-year-old son of former Arsenal defender Matthew Upson, has completed his move to the club after leaving Tottenham Hotspur โ a small piece of symmetry given his father's own history in Arsenal's back line.