Chelsea and Manchester United have turned down the chance to sign Myles Lewis-Skelly after they were contacted by an intermediary associated with the Arsenal left-back.
Lewis-Skelly, 19, faces an uncertain future at the Emirates Stadium, with Mikel Arteta favouring the more experienced Riccardo Calafiori and Piero Hincapié in that position.
Though Lewis-Skelly had a positive end to the last campaign, in which Arsenal ended their 22-year wait to win the Premier League, his main contributions came when moved into midfield – another area in which the champions are well stocked.
Arsenal signed Bruno Guimarães last week and the £75m Brazil international is expected to form an axis with Declan Rice alongside Spanish World Cup-winners Martín Zubimendi and Mikel Merino, with captain Martin Odegaard also in the frame.
It is understood that despite Chelsea and United being contacted, Lewis-Skelly, who will be 20 in September, is determined to fight for his place at Arsenal despite the increased competition.
Telegraph Sport understands that Arsenal value Lewis-Skelly in the region of £45m, and if they were to sell, the transfer would be pure profit as he is an academy product.
Chelsea sold Marc Cucurella to Real Madrid this summer but filled the gap on the left side of their defence with Rayo Vallecano’s Pep Chavarría in a deal that could eventually cost them £19m.
They had no interest in discussing Lewis-Skelly, having already spent more than £300m this summer, with new head coach Xabi Alonso looking to mould a team to get back into the Champions League and challenge for the biggest honours.
Similarly, United flatly turned down the possibility of moving for Lewis-Skelly, who had burst into Arteta’s plans two seasons ago and won the first of six England caps against Albania in March 2025, a game in which he scored and was man of the match.
It would be a disappointment if Lewis-Skelly were to leave the Emirates Stadium as he and Ethan Nwaneri were regarded as the future of the club. Their potential departures would leave Bukayo Saka and Max Dowman to carry the flag for the club’s youth department.
There is a strong feeling that Lewis-Skelly has been offered to other clubs, though it is understood Liverpool are not one of them.
United play Leeds United on Wednesday in a friendly at Croke Park and have been based at a retreat in County Kildare. Mason Mount has been receiving treatment for an injury he sustained against Paris St-Germain on Saturday and has sat out training for the last two days.