"He had more or less done the deal" - Tony Adams explains why Arsenal's deal for teenage superstar broke down at the last minute
Arsenal prospect Jude Bellingham produced an outstanding performance for Borussia Dortmund in their opening Champions League group stage win over Besiktas. The teenage star ran the show for the Bundesliga side, opening the scoring in the opening 20 minutes. He then provided a superb solo run before assisting Erling Haaland.
Bellingham joined the Bundesliga side from Birmingham City just over a year ago. It has since emerged that Arsenal had a deal in place to land the teenage star from the club prior to his agreement with Dortmund. But the arrival of Edu as the club’s sporting director changed that.
Tony Adams has subsequently revealed that the changeover in power from Mislintat and his team to Edu saw an agreed deal to land teenage superstar Bellingham break down.
Tony Adams: “I think it got lost, this one, in the transition of the chief scout at Arsenal going out. #AFC https://t.co/2jeo478qJa
The Brazilian’s appointment as Arsenal’s sporting director came while the club was undergoing a vast number of changes and many scouts lost their roles. Edu took over from former head of recruitment Sven Mislintat in 2019. High-profile scouts Steve Morrow and Francis Cagigao were among those to be moved on.
Arsenal legend Tony Adams reveals that a deal for Bellingham was almost done
In an interview with Sky Sports, Arsenal legend Tony Adams said:
“I think it (a deal to sign Bellingham) got lost, this one, in the transition of the chief scout at Arsenal going out. He was spotted very early on, not by me, by the Arsenal recruitment office. The chief scout was absolutely bowled over by him and the great prospect that he is.”
“He had more or less done the deal but at that moment the new sporting director Edu came in from Brazil and had no European experience and no UK experience. I think it got lost in the transition, Edu didn’t know anything about this player. Unfortunately, the chief scout kind of had the deal kind of done.”
Arsenal had 'done deal' to sign Jude Bellingham prior to Edu appointment
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“We missed that one, unfortunately. They are the type of players we need to get hold of at Arsenal if we’re ever going to develop and move forward. We need these kinds of players, we need to tie them up and get them to Arsenal and build a phenomenal league team. He’s a great talent but unfortunately, he’s not joined the right club.”
Gunners fans will be infuriated to discover that the club missed out on one of football’s highest rated young prospects due to a breakdown in communication. Bellingham has now been capped eight times for England and is now a star for club and country. His valuation has been multiplying since his move to Germany last year.