The one-day transfer saga surrounding Myles Lewis-Skelly has been wrapped up quickly, with Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal now discovering where he is set to play next season.
Lewis-Skelly became a major talking point on Tuesday when reports emerged that the Arsenal talent had been ‘offered’ to Manchester United and Chelsea.
Those claims were first reported by Football London and were later backed up by several journalists and media outlets, including Ben Jacobs and The Guardian.
At the time, it was not made clear whether the 19-year-old had been circulated by Arsenal themselves or by somebody from his camp or through intermediaries.
Even so, the suggestion that Lewis-Skelly could move on following the arrival of Bruno Guimaraes appeared to have some logic behind it.
Lewis-Skelly can operate either at left-back or at the base of midfield. With Guimaraes now at the club, and with Declan Rice, Martin Zubimendi and Mikel Merino also still in place, his chances of getting anything more than limited minutes in central midfield appear slim.
At left-back too, Mikel Arteta already has two dependable options available in Piero Hincapie and Riccardo Calafiori.
However, according to the latest update from The Times, Lewis-Skelly will not be heading to Old Trafford after Manchester United decided against making a move.
After outlining Chelsea’s interest in the Arsenal player, the report said: ‘Manchester United were also sounded out but are not interested this time.
‘An intermediary offered Lewis-Skelly to United among other clubs in January, saying that he would cost about £60m. United baulked at that price.’
According to information from The Guardian, that £60m valuation has now dropped to around £45m.
They said: ‘Lewis-Skelly, who made only five league starts and 36 appearances in all competitions in 2025-26, signed a five-year contract last summer. His prospective price is thought to be in the region of £45m.’
Even so, Manchester United do not appear interested in doing a deal even at that lower figure, despite being in the market for both a left-back and a defensive midfielder, the two roles Lewis-Skelly can fill.
On top of that, a move across London to Chelsea also looks highly unlikely, according to The Athletic.
Earlier on Tuesday evening, it was reported that nobody from Arsenal had been offering Lewis-Skelly around. That means the person or people who put the player’s name into circulation are likely to be agents or intermediaries.
In addition, Lewis-Skelly does not want to leave the club he has supported and represented since his youth days, and instead wants to fight for minutes and show Arteta that he deserves to start regularly.
The Athletic reported: ‘Myles Lewis-Skelly wants to stay at Arsenal and is fully focused on establishing himself in Mikel Arteta’s first-team plans for the upcoming season.
‘The 19-year-old’s performances have attracted interest from elsewhere, but Lewis-Skelly is happy at Arsenal and is not exploring a move away.
‘Instead, the Arsenal academy graduate’s attention is on the challenge of competing for regular first-team football during the forthcoming campaign. Lewis-Skelly signed a long-term contract with his boyhood club in the summer of 2025.
‘Lewis-Skelly has started regularly for Arsenal in pre-season, and it’s understood that the club are not actively offering the England international out for sale.’
Unless something extraordinary happens, Lewis-Skelly will remain an Arsenal player beyond the summer transfer window, and this one-day transfer saga has effectively ended almost as soon as it began.
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