Arsenal offer scholarship deal to Nigeria-eligible teenage central midfielder Andre Annous

ENGLISH Premier League giants Arsenal have offered Nigeria-eligible teenage box-to-box midfielder Andre Annous an academy scholarship for the course of the 2004/05 season as part of a plan to promote him into the first team.

Annous, 16, and his minders are currently reviewing the offer before deciding whether or not to put pen to paper on the new deal. Under English Premier League rules, all players under 17 are required to start the 2024/25 season on a scholarship agreement before they are permitted to sign a first professional football contract on or after their 17th birthday.

A versatile player, Annous is primarily a box-to-box midfielder but is also capable of playing as a winger and as a striker. Arsenal pulled off a transfer coup to bring him to their Hale End Academy when he was aged just eight, beating London rivals Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur to his signature.

Annous has been playing football since the age of five and played at Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea before signing schoolboy terms at the Gunners. He was a member of the Arsenal U17 team which participated in the Flamengo Adidas Cup in Brazil and he also trained with the Gunners U18 team several times in 2023.