Liverpool to hijack Arsenal in race to sign EFL striker | OneFootball

Arsenal believed they'd won the race to sign Salford City wonderkid Will Wright, but Liverpool may be about to carry about an audacious hijack of it.

Liverpool could be set to hijack the transfer of 17-year-old striker Will Wright of League Two Salford City, who'd previously reached a verbal agreement with Arsenal.

Two of the Premier League's heavyweights are involved in a tussle over the teenager Wright, who's only made two EFL appearances for Salford City. Arsenal thought they had this deal agreed weeks ago, with a verbal agreement to take the young forward to The Emirates Stadium.

But it's now being reported that last season's Premier League champions Liverpool are set to swoop in snatch Wright from under Arsenal's watchful eye, with the Gunners' agreement with the player apparently not having moved beyond the 'verbal' stage.

Liverpool have matched Arsenal bid for Salford City's Will Wright

Transfer insider Fabrizio Romano has posted to X that Liverpool are confident of hijacking the deal that Arsenal thought they'd already got sewn up, while further reporting from The Athletic's David Ornstein confirming that, while Arsenal had agreed a fee of £200,000 plus add-ons with Salford, the North London club had not agreed terms with the player himself.

It's now understood that Liverpool matched the Arsenal offer to Salford for Wright, leaving the decision over which of the two clubs he would prefer to join to the player himself. Ornstein reports that a medical is now ongoing, indicating that Wright has chosen last season's Premier League champions over last year's runners-up.

Salford may be disappointed that they didn't get the chance to see what Wright could do in League Two

Will Wright's development as a player has largely taken place away from the public gaze.

The 2024-25 season was his first as a professional, and he only made four appearances for Salford, two in League Two, one in the FA Cup and one in the EFL Trophy, making his debut for them with a brief substitute appearance in their 8-0 defeat to Manchester City in the FA Cup in January. All four of these appearances came from the bench, and he has yet to score a senior goal for them.

Wright's development so far has taken place outside an academy system. The opportunity to join one at a club the size of Liverpool was always going to be too good for him to turn down.

Arsenal may have questions to answer about how this hijack was allowed to happen. It's been two weeks since they reached a verbal agreement with Salford over the player, and there will be those who will wonder why they didn't get personal terms quickly wrapped up and the player moved down to London before Liverpool could even step in.

At 17 years of age, it may have been that Liverpool was simply closer to home. Moving to London at his age isn't for the faint-hearted. But if nothing else, it's a symbol of this young player's potential that two clubs such as Liverpool and Arsenal were so interested in him in the first place.