Manchester United are on the verge of signing English starlet Ayden Heaven from rivals Arsenal, Fabrizio Romano has confirmed.
Heaven is an 18-year-old centre-back who is left-footed and can also operate at left-back if required. The defender spent time in the West Ham United academy before linking up with Arsenal’s youth ranks in November 2019.
Heaven made his senior Arsenal debut in October, coming off the bench in the latter stages of the 3-0 League Cup win over Preston North End.
Heaven has previously been tipped to follow in the footsteps of players such as Bukayo Saka and Ethan Nwaneri by making an impact for Arsenal’s first team after gaining promotion from their academy, though he is now close to completing a controversial transfer to Man Utd.
Providing an update on X, formerly Twitter, Romano has given Heaven’s move to United his ‘here we go’ stamp of approval.
The journalist wrote: ‘Ayden Heaven to Manchester United, here we go! Exclusive story from last week confirmed as 18 year old centre back’s set to leave Arsenal and join #MUFC.
‘Medical booked after he rejected new deal from Arsenal and Eintracht [Frankfurt] approaches. Agreement being formally sealed.’
DON’T MISS: Gary Neville urges Man Utd to torch Alejandro Garnacho deal with major Nkunku doubts emerging
Ayden Heaven follows Chido Obi-Martin to Man Utd
With the teenager’s Arsenal contract expiring in June, United have swooped in to add him to their promising youth setup. Ruben Amorim’s side will pay Arsenal a compensation fee for the England U19 international due to his age.
Frankfurt were hoping to make Heaven the latest English talent to head to the Bundesliga, but they have been beaten to the punch by United.
This update comes after it emerged on Friday that United were ‘confident’ about signing Heaven. The 6ft 2in stopper was in attendance for United’s dramatic 2-1 win over Rangers in the Europa League last week.
Heaven is due to complete the exact same move as Chido Obi-Martin. The 17-year-old striker joined United in October after running down his Arsenal terms.
United have worked hard to future-proof their ranks in recent months, having brought in Malian midfielder Sekou Kone and agreed to sign teenage left-back Diego Leon this summer, too.
READ NEXT: Man Utd barged aside as Tottenham hold talks over second biggest club deal for major teenage talent
Man Utd transfers: Dorgu timeline as battle commences
There has been a double update on United’s pursuit of Lecce wing-back Patrick Dorgu.
Romano states that United are ‘optimistic’ about agreeing a deal for Dorgu in the next 24-48 hours, with a third bid in the works.
The Dane has already said yes to Amorim’s project, which means finalising a contract should not be an issue.
But United must act fast to complete the deal as TEAMtalk understands Chelsea, Juventus and Napoli are all interested in Dorgu as well.
United are still in pole position, though Juve are the most likely to challenge them for the 20-year-old’s services.
The Italian giants have made contact with Lecce after identifying Dorgu as an ideal replacement for Manchester City-linked Andrea Cambiaso.
QUIZ – think you know Ruben Amorim?
Raid on Arsenal gets ‘here we go’ confirmation as medical ‘booked’
