Arsenal Targets Double Transfer of Manchester United's Scanlon and Ogunneye

Arsenal’s youth rebuild is about to run straight through Manchester United.

The club are closing on a double deal for highly rated youngsters James Scanlon and Habeeb Ogunneye, with one transfer already at the medical stage and the other moving through advanced talks.

Standard Sport understands Scanlon has become a serious target as Arsenal sharpen their focus on elite youth recruitment. Discussions with United are ongoing, but there is confidence at London Colney that an agreement can be struck, with personal terms not expected to be a stumbling block.

The situation with Ogunneye is even further down the line. Arsenal are set to sign the 20-year-old defender on a free transfer, with United inserting a 40 per cent sell-on clause into the deal. His medical is booked for Thursday and an announcement is anticipated over the weekend.

Ogunneye will initially link up with the Under-21s, but the plan is clear: he will be given the chance to train with Mikel Arteta’s first-team squad and attempt to force his way into the manager’s thinking.

James Scanlon: Gibraltar’s teenage record-breaker

Scanlon is 19, Leicester-born, and already a full international. He has been capped 24 times by Gibraltar, who he qualifies for through his mother.

At 17 years and 346 days, he wrote his name into the record books, becoming the youngest goalscorer in UEFA Nations League history with a strike in a 2-2 draw against Liechtenstein in September 2024.

On the pitch, he offers versatility and direct threat. Naturally a winger comfortable on either flank, he can also operate as an attacking midfielder, drifting into central pockets to affect the game.

Scanlon came through Derby County’s academy before United moved to bring him in back in February 2021. He quickly climbed the age groups, breaking into the Under-18s within a year and then stepping onto the European stage.

The 2023-24 campaign marked a major step. He featured in the UEFA Youth League, made appearances for United’s Under-21s, and was called into first-team training by Erik ten Hag. That progress was rewarded in May 2024 when he signed his first professional contract at Old Trafford.

He edged even closer to a senior debut in March 2025, when he was named in a Manchester United matchday squad for the first time for a Europa League tie against Real Sociedad. The breakthrough appearance did not arrive, and he is still waiting for his first competitive minutes for the club.

Instead, his first taste of senior club football came on loan. Scanlon spent the second half of last season at Swindon Town, turning down interest from clubs across Europe to head to League Two. He scored once in six games as the Robins finished ninth, agonisingly a point outside the play-off places.

Now Arsenal are pushing to make him part of their next generation.

Habeeb Ogunneye: attacking right-back in international tug-of-war

Ogunneye, a little over a year older than Scanlon, is a product of United’s own academy. He made his debut for the club’s Under-18s at just 15, underlining how highly he was rated in Carrington’s youth set-up.

Born in Hackney, he is an adventurous right-back who likes to get forward, and he took a significant step in his development last season with a loan spell at Newport County. The move delivered exactly what it was supposed to: senior football and real tests.

Ogunneye made 21 appearances in all competitions for Newport, featuring not only in League Two but also in the FA Cup and Carabao Cup. He also came up against Arsenal’s youngsters in the EFL Trophy, in a twist that now feels telling.

On that night he was on the wrong side of the result against an Arsenal Under-21s side that included Marli Salmon. Ogunneye conceded a penalty from which Andre Harriman-Annous scored the equaliser, a small detail that will not have gone unnoticed by Arsenal’s academy staff.

His rise has not been confined to club level. Internationally, Ogunneye is already at the centre of a tug-of-war. Eligible for England by birth and Nigeria through heritage, he has attracted attention from both federations as they monitor his progress.

No decision on his senior allegiance has been announced, but England Under-21s head coach Lee Carsley has identified him as a potential star of the future.

If Arsenal complete this double swoop as expected, two of United’s most intriguing young prospects will be attempting to make their mark in north London instead.