Norwich City battling with Crystal Palace to land Arsenal striker transfer agreement | OneFootball

The hot prospect is yet to commit his future to any club.

Norwich City are facing competition from Crystal Palace in their bid to sign Arsenal youngster Dan Casey.

Interest in the 17-year-old was first reported by The Pink Un towards the end of July as Casey's future with the Gunners remained uncertain.

Following the expiration of his youth team deal with the English giants, the attacker, who can play in a multitude of different positions across the front line, was offered a pro contract by Arsenal, along with four of his teammates.

They have secured the signatures of all of them, bar Casey, leaving doubts around whether the youngster will stick around at Hale End.

It has now been reported by Fabrizio Romano that Norwich have made contact with Arsenal about signing the teenager, but they face stiff Premier League competition.

Norwich face double Premier League competition for 20-goal attacker

The Canaries, however, by no means have a free run at Casey, who scored 20 times for the Premier League title contenders' under-18s side last season.

Crystal Palace, another hotbed for up-and-coming footballers, have now also been linked with the former Arsenal player by Romano.

The offer to Casey from his old club still stands, as per the Italian journalist, but the non-acceptance of it has certainly left doubts about how likely he is to be back in Arsenal colours this season.

There are a couple of connections between Carrow Road and the North London side, namely Norwich's sporting director, Ben Knapper, and former interim boss Jack Wilshere, who directly worked with Casey during his time working within Arsenal's youth setup.

Norwich or Palace would have to agree some form of compensation fee with Mikel Arteta's side, or have the player's value be decided by a court, in order to secure his signature, as is the case with any player up until the campaign in which their 23rd birthday falls.

Norwich City face tough battle in Dan Casey race - they may not win out despite Ben Knapper link

The track record that the likes of Arsenal and Palace have may make it hard for Liam Manning's side to complete a deal. It has been reported by The Pink Un that it will be Dean Rastrick, the club's head of football development, and other academy staff who lead the Casey charge.

The two teams from the capital both have a brilliant recent history of bringing rising talents through their ranks and eventually into first-team football.

In the Eagles' case, that does tend to come more from spotting talents lower down the pyramid and then raising them up to the Premier League standard, but, for the Gunners, Myles Lewis-Skelly, Ethan Nwaneri and Max Dowman are examples of how Casey could end up as a top-flight footballer.

The leg-up that Norwich may have is the potential for minutes at a more senior level sooner than what their Premier League competitors can offer. It's a risky pitch, but one that could give them the best chance of landing Casey.