Arsenal have reached an agreement to sign exciting England youth centre-forward Vincent Joseph from Liverpool this summer, as per The Athletic.
Arsenal are undergoing a major revamp of their academy ranks after seasons of inconsistent results and performances compared to their Chelsea, Manchester United, and Manchester City counterparts.
The recently concluded 2025-26 campaign was particularly a poor one for the Gunners at U18S, U19S, and U21S on all fronts. The U21S were eliminated from the Premier League 2 play-offs after finishing 14th in the regular season and also got knocked out from the EFL Trophy after finishing bottom of their group.
The U18S finished 10th in the U18 Premier League South division and exited the FA Youth Cup in the round of 32, while the U19S were eliminated from the UEFA Youth League in the group stage.
As a result, the club are now working ambitiously to revamp both their on-pitch and off-pitch youth structure. Most notably, Pascal De Maesschalck was brought in as academy director from Strasbourg to replace Per Mertesacker, who left at the end of last season.
Work is already ongoing to bolster their squad, with the latest possible addition being Liverpool’s Joseph.
Exciting forward
This is according to The Athletic, which claims that Arsenal have reached an agreement to sign the highly rated centre-forward from Liverpool.
Having agreed a deal in principle, the two clubs are now in talks over a resolution on the settlement fee for the England U16 star, the report adds.
If the two clubs fail to reach a consensus, The Athletic reports a tribunal will decide the fee, a standard procedure for players under 24 who have yet to sign or have reached the end of their first professional contract.
Joseph would be a shrewd addition to the Gunners academy, and there’s an expectation he would be part of the U18 set-up at Hale End.
The 16-year-old has an impressive goalscoring record, with three goals from just two games for the U18S and an even more impressive eight goals from nine games at the international level for Barry Lewtas’ England U16 side.
After losing their top academy prospect, Mishel Nduka, to City, who also trumped Arsenal to sign Jeremy Monga from Leicester City, the potential addition of Joseph would be a bold statement of the club’s ongoing efforts to reinforce their academy ranks.
