Mikel Arteta gets one over Man Utd as Arsenal boss set for sweet revenge in £10m deal
Mikel Arteta gets one over Man Utd as Arsenal boss set for sweet revenge in £10m deal
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Mikel Arteta is set to taste transfer revenge over Manchester United as Arsenal close in on a highly-rated midfielder Sverre Nypan. The Gunners are about to see another bright young star leave the club for Old Trafford, with the Red Devils closing in on a January deal for defender Ayden Heaven. Arteta is a big fan of the 18-year-old and singled him out for praise following a pre-season friendly against United, calling his performance “remarkable”.
Heaven is set to follow in the footsteps of talented striker Chido Obi-Martin, who swapped Arsenal for United last summer. After being prolific in the club’s youth ranks, the Gunners were desperate to keep Obi-Martin, 17, and were hopeful of tying him to a new deal.
However, a bumper contract offer and what he saw as a more realistic path to the first team saw him uproot to the north-west. United had been looking to strike another transfer blow on Arsenal as they were among a string of clubs tracking Rosenborg’s Nypan, whose style of play has been likened to that of Gunners skipper Martin Odegaard.
Manchester City have also held an interest, with the youngster being pictured at the Etihad for the Premier League champions’ recent 3-1 win over Chelsea. Aston Villa have also been linked with Nypan, but it is Arsenal who are in the pole position to sign the teenager.
According to The Athletic, Nypan has been told that he would move straight into Arteta's first-team squad should he snub offers from elsewhere. It has been reported that Rosenborg want a £10million fee plus 'significant add-ons' for Nypan, who scored eight goals in 28 league games last season as they finished fourth in the Norwegian top-flight.
