Wayne Rooney Calls for Manchester United to Sign Myles Lewis-Skelly

Wayne Rooney has urged Manchester United to pounce on what he calls a transfer “no-brainer” in Arsenal teenager Myles Lewis-Skelly – even as the Gunners’ hierarchy send out mixed messages over the 19-year-old’s future.

The highly rated academy product has been the subject of growing noise in recent weeks, with both United and Chelsea among the clubs informed by intermediaries that a deal could be possible at around £45million. Those conversations sparked immediate questions over whether Lewis-Skelly was ready to leave the Emirates.

For now, the answer from his side is no. Standard Sport report that, despite the approaches, Lewis-Skelly is not actively exploring a move away from Arsenal.

That hasn’t cooled Rooney’s enthusiasm.

Speaking on the Stick to United podcast, the former United captain zeroed in on two issues at once: Luke Shaw’s fitness and United’s lack of depth on the left side of defence.

“I don’t think you can rely on Luke Shaw to be consistent for the whole season and that leads me to Myles Lewis-Skelly,” Rooney said. “We’re hearing that he could be available for not that much money, so I think that’s an absolute no-brainer.

If you can get a player in who can play left-back and centre-midfield, that’s an absolute no-brainer. He’s young and he’s got a massive future ahead of him.”

Rooney even suggested Arsenal’s own spending could tempt them into a sale.

“Arsenal have spent a lot over the last couple of years so selling Lewis-Skelly makes some sense as it would be pure profit. I don’t think it would be a great look but I can see why they might sell him.

If you’re United and he becomes available it’s a no-brainer, they definitely need to bring in a left-back, that’s a priority for United.”

Arsenal, publicly at least, are trying to slam the brakes on the speculation.

Chief executive Richard Garlick moved to calm fears of an imminent exit when he spoke to talkSPORT, praising Lewis-Skelly’s rapid rise and stressing the club’s desire to build around its brightest talents.

“Myles has had a fantastic end to last season and he started this season really well and as I say we're always looking to retain and build on our best players,” Garlick said.

“Obviously there may be speculation, I'm not going to go into that from other clubs but we're very happy with Myles and the position he's in at the club.”

That sounded definitive. Then came a softer line.

In a separate interview with the BBC, Garlick widened the lens to include Lewis-Skelly and fellow academy star Ethan Nwaneri, and his wording left room for manoeuvre.

“We’re not actively looking at selling those homegrown players, but if the right opportunity came up and it was right for them and right for the club, then we’d obviously consider that,” he admitted.

So the stance is clear, and yet not quite nailed shut. Arsenal want to keep Lewis-Skelly. They also know that, at the right price, every asset has a value. United and Chelsea have already been told what that number roughly looks like.

The next move belongs to the clubs brave enough to test how firmly Arsenal really want to hold their ground.