Arsenal chief Edu agrees cheap back-door exit for star with 'one hell of a future' – Football News

Arsenal chief Edu agrees cheap back-door exit for star with 'one hell of a future'

Edu has overseen the sale of several Arsenal academy graduates so far this summer (Image: Getty)

Arsenal youngster Brooke Norton-Cuffy is set to join Genoa in a cut-price deal, according to reports. The 20-year-old excelled on loan at Millwall last season, but that wasn’t enough to land him a place in Mikel Arteta’s pre-season plans.

Youngsters Myles Lewis-Skelly, Ethan Nwaneri and Charles Sagoe Jr were among those included in Arsenal’s recent pre-season tour of the USA. But there was no space for Norton-Cuffy, who has already banked more than a century of senior appearances across several loan spells in League One and the Championship.

The promising right-back could now be set to leave north London without ever making a first-team appearance for Arsenal, with sporting director Edu sanctioning a permanent exit.

According to transfer expert Fabrizio Romano, Norton-Cuffy will conduct his medical at Genoa later this week after the two clubs agreed an initial £1.7million deal, although future add-ons could bump up the overall fee.

Genoa are seemingly hedging their bets on a young, English right-back for the second season in a row, having helped Tottenham star Djed Spence rediscover his best form during a loan spell in 2023/24.

Norton-Cuffy, an England Under-21 international, is one of the brightest graduates of Arsenal’s Hale End academy in recent years. And Millwall’s Ryan Leonard, who he shared a dressing room with last season, believes he is destined for the top.

England v Luxembourg - UEFA U21 Euro 2025

Brooke Norton-Cuffy is set to join Genoa on a permanent deal (Image: Getty)

“Brooke has been excellent all season,” he explained in December 2023. “He did well at Coventry last year and has hit the ground running. He’s got a hell of a future in the game.”

Norton-Cuffy was a regular for the Lions last season, making 40 appearances to help them to a respectable 13th-place finish in the second tier. With new signing Riccardo Calafiori bedding in and more recruits likely before the summer transfer deadline, Arsenal have had to get ruthless with a number of their fringe players.

Norton-Cuffy would merely be the latest in a growing line of academy graduates to flee north London. Goalkeeper prospect Arthur Okonkwo has joined Wrexham on a permanent deal after impressing on loan last campaign, and Emile Smith Rowe has been sold to Fulham for an initial £27m.

Arteta, meanwhile, has put his full faith in teenagers Nwaneri and Lewis-Skelly by leaving the door open to regular first-team minutes this term after their impressive performances in pre-season.

Source: https://www.express.co.uk/sport/football/1934937/arsenal-news-edu-brooke-norton-cuffy