North London’s Myles Lewis-Skelly reportedly offered to Manchester United as left-back option

By Charlie Bradshaw — 11 August 2026 — 4 min read

Myles Lewis-Skelly, a player for Arsenal, has reportedly been offered to Manchester United as a potential left-back option. This development comes as Arsenal seeks to recoup funds following the acquisition of Bruno Guimarães for £75m. Chelsea has also been made aware of the 19-year-old’s availability, though it is unclear if the west London club will pursue a move.

Lewis-Skelly signed a five-year contract last summer and is thought to have a prospective price in the region of £45m. During the 2025-26 season, he made five league starts and a total of 36 appearances across all competitions. This reported asking price falls within the financial range United has spent this summer, which includes Youri Tielemans’s £35m transfer from Aston Villa and Andrey Santos’s £48m arrival, plus £2m in add-ons, from Chelsea.

Interest from Premier League Clubs

Manchester United’s primary interest for the left-back position remains Newcastle’s Lewis Hall. However, following the departures of Guimarães, Sandro Tonali to Tottenham, and Anthony Gordon to Barcelona, the new Newcastle manager, Matthias Jaissle, is reportedly keen to retain the 21-year-old England international. RB Leipzig’s 28-year-old left-back David Raum is another player United may consider for the position.

Chelsea has been active in the transfer market this summer, spending over £300m on new signings. These include Maxence Lacroix and Marco Palestra to strengthen the central and right defence, respectively. Morgan Rogers also became the club’s record signing at a cost of £117m. Despite these acquisitions, Xabi Alonso’s side has a defensive gap on the left following Marc Cucurella’s £52m move to Real Madrid. The 20-year-old Jorrel Hato, who played for the Netherlands at the World Cup, served as Cucurella’s deputy at left-back.

Reports indicate that Arsenal does not wish to sell Lewis-Skelly to a direct rival, especially a team they might compete with for top league positions. Chelsea had previously been linked with Lewis-Skelly in January. While Manchester United has a long-standing interest in the player, they are still evaluating whether to commit to signing another midfielder or a left-back before the transfer deadline. It is uncertain if United would be able to complete further significant deals if they were to pursue Lewis-Skelly, particularly in a market characterised by high prices for central-midfield players, though he can play both positions.

Lewis-Skelly’s Role and Arsenal’s Strategy

Lewis-Skelly is focused on securing a place in Mikel Arteta’s first-team plans for the upcoming season and is not actively seeking a move away from Arsenal. He signed a long-term contract with the club in the summer of 2025 and has been a regular starter for Arsenal during pre-season. The club is not actively offering the England international for sale, but there is an understanding that departures may occur before the transfer window closes, requiring flexibility in their plans.

An academy graduate, Lewis-Skelly has been with Arsenal since he was eight years old and broke into the first team during the 2024-25 season. Initially making an impact as a left-back, he secured a starting position in his preferred central midfield role last season. His performances during Arsenal’s title-winning run-in earned him a start in the Champions League Final against Paris Saint-Germain. He has made 75 first-team appearances for Arsenal and has been capped six times by England, though he was not part of Thomas Tuchel’s World Cup squad this summer.

The signing of Bruno Guimarães has intensified competition in Arsenal’s midfield, which now includes Declan Rice, Lewis-Skelly, Martin Zubimendi, and Mikel Merino. While Lewis-Skelly’s sale would represent ‘pure profit’ for the club, there are valid reasons for Arsenal to retain him, especially given the high number of minutes played by key midfielder Rice over the past year. Rice featured in all but two Premier League, Champions League, and Carabao Cup games between January 1 and the end of the season, leading to concerns about his workload.

Meanwhile, Mason Mount of Manchester United missed training on Monday and Tuesday at the club’s County Kildare summer training camp due to a foot knock sustained in Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Paris Saint-Germain in Gothenburg. The 27-year-old midfielder’s absence is a precautionary measure, and he is expected to miss Wednesday’s pre-season friendly against Leeds at Croke Park, which is a sell-out. United’s final friendly before Michael Carrick’s team begins the season at Hull is against Milan in Wroclaw on Saturday.

Source: theguardian.com