Arsenal May Loose Nigeria’s Teenage Goalkeeper: Arthur Okonkwo

Arsenal risk losing one of their best teenage prospects because of a contract stand-off.

England under-17s keeper Arthur Okonkwo, 16, is being targeted by RB Leipzig and Celtic because he has yet to sign a deal at Arsenal.

Okonkwo, who is already 6ft 5in, is seen as one of Arsenal’s most promising youngsters with a genuine chance of making the first team and is regarded highly in the England set-up.

Okonkwo is keen to stay at Arsenal but the club’s purge on contracts means they stand to lose him as he can walk away as a free agent in the summer.

Arsenal have offered him a scholarship with a professional contract to follow when he turns 17 in September but no agreement has been reached.

That has alerted several clubs who are offering better deals with Arsenal in danger of losing players because of their attitude to contracts.

Arsenal brought in Huss Fahmy, formerly of Team Sky, to negotiate contracts and he is quickly getting a reputation of being a tough operator at all levels.

They have asked Jack Wilshere to take a pay cut at first team level and move to a pay-as-you-play deal but Arsenal are clearly taking a similar attitude throughout the ranks.

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