Arsenal have confirmed the signing of 17-year-old Joel Ideho from Ajax.
The winger – a Dutch youth international – moves to London Colney to bolster our Academy ranks following a raft of loan departures.
News of Ideho’s arrival comes a day after we recruited 18-year-old Swede Nikolaj Moller from Malmo and agreed terms with Hertha Berlin for defender Omar Rekik, who will join in January.
Looking ahead, due to the UK’s decision to leave the EU, it is unlikely the club will get the chance to recruit under-18 talent from the continent for the foreseeable future.
Currently, Fifa bars all players under 18 from moving to a foreign club but makes an exception for those aged 16 and 17 moving within two countries in the European Economic Area. Our access to that ends on 31 December.
For context, Nicolas Anelka, Cesc Fabregas, Nicklas Bendtner, Wojciech Szczesny, Hector Bellerin and Gabriel Martinelli were all brought into the Arsenal family at a young age as a result of their European passports.
Good luck to him!
Interesting to see the new academy system, really hope it works.
It certainly makes room for more youngsters, as we have the ones on loan plus the u23. More playing time for our kids!
(also want to see what will we do when they get back, because we are signing players to fill their gap, so technically there’s no room for them in the academy anymore… first team maybe?)
Yes, the youngsters will be an important source of talent for the first team. After leaving the EU at the end of the transition period that avenue of recruitment will dry up so let’s hope our scouting system in this country is up to the job because it will be competing even more rigorously with all the other teams here to get the talented youngsters.
certainly the success of our boys (Saka, Nketiah, Niles…) will help a lot in that way. Being known as one of the best academy in the country also allows you to attract the best talent
Is he ralated to Duncan Idaho?
The goals must flow.
If only the Remain campaign had led with this…
In the words of the article, let’s hope he’s more a “Fabregas” than a “Bendtner”. One like the latter is more than enough to be going on with.
The last 3 paragraphs make me both angry and sad. Slow clap and sarcastic appreciation to you know who.
He who shall not be named?
Not Mr X, man of mystery?
Just some cunt
Ah.
I’m Idaho!
You don’t even know potatoes, until you’ve been to Idaho.
Am I allowed to say it? F*ck Brex*t.
I hear they are calling it project cumm-shot now
The boy is class. You’ll see.
Well done to all the fuckwits that voted for Brexit!
The country is more important than the hiring practices of the club. Anyway, real fans have been crying out for more British talent and chances for local boys for years. There are plenty of young highly talented players in this country who slip through the cracks, usually due to attitude and commitment. Why can’t we offer them the same opportunities as “foreign potential wonderkid” (who isn’t guaranteed to succeed).
Yeah. Otherwise the likes of Bukayo Saka, Reiss Nelson, Eddie Nketiah, Joe Willock and Emile Smith Rowe would never get a chance.
Setting aside the referendum argument which is sterile now, although many European players at Arsenal have graced (and continue to grace) the game and added greatly to the club this has restricted the development of “home-grown” talent across the game. There will still be plenty of these players here, but hopefully there should be more opportunities for British youngsters to come through – if they’re good enough. Arsenal have got to be in a position with their scouting network, through to the Academy and upwards, to take full advantage of this though. All the other clubs will be thinking the… Read more »
If we want true British talent to develop into good footballers, you want them competing against the best young talent. Not only the best young British talent. It also works the other way. Sancho, one of the best wingers in the world, would not have been allowed to move to Dortmund if Brexit kicked in.
At last we have our own private Ideho……
I think, or should say hope, that the young European kids we’ve been bringing in will be replaced by young South American kids. Edu has contacts there and the only scouts we kept on the payroll are based there.
Try reading the article again