Wayne Rooney Backs Manchester United's Move for Myles Lewis-Skelly
Wayne Rooney has thrown his weight behind a bold Manchester United move for Myles Lewis-Skelly, calling a deal for the Arsenal teenager a “no-brainer” amid growing noise around the youngster’s future.
The 19-year-old has been linked with a shock exit from the Emirates after intermediaries sounded out clubs including United and Chelsea about a possible transfer, with a reported £45million valuation attached to his name. Standard Sport revealed those approaches, but the player himself is not believed to be pushing for 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 Lewis-Skelly as an answer to one of his old club’s most obvious weaknesses.
“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 also pointed to Arsenal’s recent heavy spending as a potential factor in any decision.
“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, at least publicly, are pushing back.
Club chief executive Richard Garlick appeared to shut down talk of an imminent exit when asked about Lewis-Skelly on talkSPORT, stressing the club’s desire to keep hold of their brightest prospects.
“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 slight twist.
In a separate interview with the BBC, Garlick adopted a more nuanced stance, admitting that a sale of Lewis-Skelly – and fellow academy product Ethan Nwaneri – could not be ruled out completely.
“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 said.
So the message is clear enough: Arsenal want to keep Lewis-Skelly, but won’t slam the door shut if a major offer lands on the table. For United, desperate for a long-term solution at left-back and drawn to a player who can also operate in midfield, that sliver of possibility is exactly what makes Rooney’s “no-brainer” sound less like punditry – and more like a challenge.
