Exclusive: Man Utd given two reasons to believe in Lewis-Skelly deal

Robin Bairner

• Updated: 27 Mar 2026 04:27 CDT
• 4 min read

News

Manchester United’s hunt for a new left-back in the summer has led them to study a deal for Arsenal’s Myles Lewis-Skelly, and the Red Devils have now been told they have a credible shot at landing the 19-year-old.

Despite being nominated for PFA Young Player of the Year last term, the Hale End Academy graduate has dropped behind Riccardo Calafiori and Piero Hincapie to become the Gunners’ third choice left-back this season.

While he has made 27 appearances for Arsenal this season, chipping in with four assists, he has played only 312 Premier League minutes in an indication of how far down Mikel Arteta’s thoughts he has tumbled.

Indeed, his last league outing was the scoreless draw against Liverpool on 8 January.

Man Utd are ready to take advantage of this situation by snapping him up in the summer, with the Old Trafford outfit said to have put Lewis-Skelly above Newcastle’s Lewis Hall and Frankfurt’s Nathaniel Brown as their leading target for the left-back position.

Lewis Skelly to Man Utd: Why Arsenal could give him their blessing

While it might seem an unlikely deal given the historic rivalry of Man Utd and Arsenal, transfer expert Steve Kay has explained to FootballTransfers why the Red Devils stand a legitimate shot of signing Lewis-Skelly.

“Ordinarily, there would be no chance of a deal, but if Myles is instigating this, then Arsenal won’t stand in his way,” he explained.

“It must be tough for him, going from what he personally achieved last season to third-choice left-back this season.

“And remember Arsenal have already allowed Chido Obi-Martin and Ayden Heaven join Man Utd. A loan could be on the cards based on that.”

A third young Gunner becomes a Red Devil?

Kay underlined that while Arsenal wanted to retain both of the youngsters who have recently made the trip from North London to Manchester, they were not willing to stand in the way of their careers, underlining the fact that Lewis-Skelly could become the third Gunners graduate to tread a similar path.

“Arsenal did offer Obi-Martin what they thought was a very good, fair package to secure his future, but my understanding was that his family wanted more money,” he explained. “Arsenal refused to go higher, hence he ended up at United. He’s not been heard of this season.

“Heaven just wanted game time. Money wasn’t a factor. He just wanted to play. He left Arsenal on much better terms. He’s a different type of character altogether and it’s no surprise he’s put in some very good performances in the Man Utd first team.”

United, therefore, have reason to believe that Arsenal would reluctantly allow Lewis-Skelly to leave in the summer, though with an Estimated Transfer Value (ETV) of €56.6 million (£49m), he is unlikely to move cheaply.

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