Arsenal make brilliant Ajax star priority signing as Romano confirms Edu, Arteta are ‘pushing’ for deal

Edu, Jorrel Hato

Arsenal have reportedly made an outstanding Ajax centre-back one of their top targets for the summer transfer window, with Fabrizio Romano confirming the Gunners are ‘pushing’ to get a deal done.

Jorrel Hato, 18, made his debut for the Dutch giants last season but quickly established himself as a first-team regular at the start of the current campaign.

Hato was rewarded for his impressive breakthrough season with a new Ajax contract, a deal which keeps him tied to the club until 2028.

However, transfer insider Fabrizio Romano reports that Arsenal are now ‘pushing’ to get a transfer done and that the wheels are already set in motion for a another impressive Gunners signing.

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Indeed, Arteta views Hato as someone who could put pressure on first-choice centre-back pairing William Saliba and Gabriel hile also be the future of the club in that position, given his young age.

And Romano, speaking on his Here We Go podcast , said: “Arsenal are also working on their future, they have many wonderkids in their academy but there is a player they’re after and he’s playing at Ajax, he’s a centre-back and it’s Jorrel Hato.

“Hato signed a new deal with Ajax a few months ago, Ajax are obviously more than happy with him and hoping to keep Hato at the club in the summer.

“But Arsenal are still following him, they’ve tracked him multiple times, they believe he is a top, top centre back in terms of potential, so keep an eye on Arsenal. They are still pushing on Hato and they believe they are frontrunners in the race to sign him.

“Let’s see if they can make it happen this summer, or has to be in the future, but Hato remains one of the priority names on Arsenal’s list.”

Henderson raves over Arsenal target Hato

Speaking after joining Ajax in the January transfer window, Jordan Henderson claimed Hato ‘has a bright future ahead of him’.

“It’s crazy how young he is, but obviously how mature he looks when he’s on the pitch and also off the pitch,” Henderson said.

“He’s a very mature person, works hard, fantastic player, and yeah, he has a bright future ahead of him, I’m sure. I think he just needs to continue to do what he’s he’s been doing.”

From everything Romano and Henderson have said, it sounds like Hato would be a tremendous addition to the Arsenal squad and keep Saliba and Gabriel firmly on their toes.

In terms of what sort of fee the Gunners could be looking at, there is no mention from Romano – although the player is currently valued at what would be a bargain €22m on Transfermarkt.

Arsenal are back in action on Sunday when they head to struggling Manchester United in the Premier League looking to maintain their one-point lead at the top of the Premier League table.