ARSENAL are reportedly copying Chelsea’s blueprint of raiding Europe for young gems to build their future squad.
The Blues’ Cobham facility is one of the finest youth academies in the world having produced the likes of Reece James, Callum Hudson-Odoi and Trevoh Chalobah.
The English trio who have been phenomenal for Thomas Tuchel’s side this season were all honed at Cobham.
But not all of the young talent at Stamford Bridge is homegrown.
Such as Norwegian striker Bryan Fiabema who was brought in by Blues transfer supremo Maria Granovskaia last year.
The Blues’ policy of raising homegrown talent has helped them storm to the top of the Premier League this season.
And now, the Gunners are aiming to replicate their West London rival’s success by snagging emerging talent from a lesser-known part of Europe, according to Football London.
The Gunners have got set their sights on Romania being the country to produce the club’s next set of superstars to help them lift trophies, FL claim.
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The Gunners’ first delve into Romania’s waters was a success as they managed to steal then 16-year-old starlet Vlad Dragomir who was billed to be the next ‘Toni Kroos.’
The midfielder was even inducted into the Guardian’s 2016 ‘Next Generation’ but he failed to live up to the hype and was shipped out to Serie B side Perugia in 2018.
But now the Gunners and transfer chief Edu have got their hands on another Romanian gem, Catalin Cirjan.
The midfielder’s impressed Gunners boss Mikel Arteta so much that the Spaniard’s already promoted him to first-team training on a permanent basis.
And the Gunners are also keen on bringing in one more Romanian prodigy to join Cirjan.
Last month, SunSport revealed that the Gunners were interested in Romanian strike prodigy Ianis Stoica who plays for the country’s biggest club, FCSB.
At the time, FSCB owner Gigi Becali issued a hands-off warning to the Gunners and insisted the 18-year-old isn’t for sale.
But the Gunners have now reportedly decided to test Becali’s resolve and table a formal bid for the hot-shot.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
