Manchester United have confirmed the signing of Arsenal centre back Ayden Heaven on a four-and-a-half year deal.
Embed from Getty ImagesLeft footed central defender Heaven, 18, had made his debut for the Gunners earlier this season will immediately join the first team squad and potentially compete with Lisandro Martinez..
The England U19 international signed a contract until June 2029, with the option of an additional year as the Reds did business with just days of the winter transfer window remaining – it is believed the fee is around £1m for the youth player who only had six months left on his Arsenal contract.
Commenting on the deal, Heaven said: “I am incredibly proud to join Manchester United.
“I’m grateful to everyone who helped make this dream a reality.
“There is so much that I want to achieve in the game, I’ll be giving everything to continue my development and become the best player that I can be.”
Jason Wilcox, Manchester United technical director, said: “We are delighted that Ayden has joined Manchester United.
He is already an extremely talented defender who is ready to join our first-team squad in order to maximise his development.
“This club has a phenomenal track record of supporting young players and we believe that Ayden is in the perfect place to reach his excellent potential.”
There could be movement on other players as United continued to work on other deals.
Patrick Dorgu – a left wing back from Lecce – is expected to fly in for a medical prior to a reported £29m signing.
Tyrell Malacia could be departing on loan to Benfica – he has only featured sparingly following his return to first team training after injury – and only played for the first half of United’s Europa League win over FCSB on Thursday.
And Marcus Rashford – exiled by Reds boss Ruben Amorim – appears to be closing in on an exit on loan, with an option to buy, to Aston Villa.
Amorim had been critical of players who did not perform well in training without specifically singling out the England forward in recent weeks but it has seemed increasingly clear that his days at Old Trafford were drawing to a close.