Arsenal have reportedly set a £45m asking price for Myles Lewis-Skelly, with Chelsea and Manchester United both linked as clubs test the waters. The valuation turns this into more than a simple watchlist story. It is a price-setting exercise around a teenager who made 36 appearances in Arsenal’s title-winning campaign and is still talking like someone who sees his future there.

Arsenal’s valuation

The reported £45m figure is the first number that matters. Arsenal are not treating Lewis-Skelly like a player they would let go cheaply, and the comparison being floated is telling: the club paid £75 million to Bruno Guimarães at Newcastle as part of the broader financial context around the discussion.

That does not mean a move is close. It does mean any club circling will have to pay premium money for a player who has already been used regularly in a title-winning side. Lewis-Skelly’s 36 appearances last season are the kind of detail that makes the asking price harder to shrug off.

Lewis-Skelly’s own stance

The player’s public line points the other way. Asked about his future, Lewis-Skelly said: “I want a legacy. I want to win everything there is to win in the game. I want to win trophies on the biggest stages whilst being a person that's always learning and stays grounded, which is so important.”

That sits neatly with the other comments he has made about Arsenal being a dream and about having “a lot of years ahead” of him. He is speaking like someone who sees development and identity as part of the same project. In football terms, that makes the exit chatter harder to read as anything more than interest for now.

Thomas Tuchel has also added a useful layer to the picture, saying Lewis-Skelly’s best position is the inverted left double-six role at Arsenal and describing him as very versatile. That is the sort of praise that explains why clubs are looking at him in the first place. It also feeds the more settled argument that Arsenal still have plenty of reason to keep him.

The interest from Chelsea and Manchester United remains part of the story, but so does Lewis-Skelly’s own wording. Arsenal have priced him as a major asset, and the teenager is talking like a player who wants to build something at the club rather than leave it behind.

Written by Jack Mercer with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 3 outlets. How we work →