Their Own Bellingham: Arsenal Preparing January Move to Sign Luca Weinhandl

· GiveMeSport

Arsenal are ready to sign the highly-rated midfielder in the January transfer window

Arsenal already have one of the best midfield line-ups in European football, but if they are able to add further quality to it then they aren't going to turn it down.

Arsenal further strengthened their midfield this summer with the addition of Newcastle United captain Bruno Guimaraes, with the Brazilian international boosting an engine room that already consisted of Declan Rice and Martin Zubimendi, while Myles Lewis-Skelly continues to go from strength to strength in that position.

With the likes of captain Martin Odegaard and teenage sensation Max Dowman able to play in the attacking midfield role, Mikel Arteta has a plethora of strong options to pick from.

Still, GIVEMESPORT senior correspondent Ben Jacobs understands that the north London outfit could still look to sign another midfielder in 2027 , with the Gunners showing an interest in Bournemouth star Alex Scott, like many of their top six Premier League rivals.

Scott's future is in doubt after the Cherries have failed to make a breakthrough in contract negotiations with the 23-year-old, who starred on his first England start as Thomas Tuchel's men thrashed Croatia 7-0 last weekend.

It will be interesting to see if Arsenal add another senior midfielder to their ranks or look for a younger option with big potential, such as Sturm Graz's Luca Weinhandl.

The 17-year-old was named in the Guardian's Next Generation 2026 this week, which is a list of 60 of the best young talents in world football.

According to the Guardian, both Arsenal and Brighton and Hove Albion are planning on making a January move for the teenager, who shot to prominence when he was part of the Austria team that sensationally reached the Under-17 World Cup final last November.

Weinhandl was promoted to Sturm Graz's first team after returning from the Under-17 World Cup, and he has gone on to establish himself as a key player for them this season.

He has started 11 of the 13 matches he has been available for this season, appearing in all 13, and was the star of the show in his side's Champions League first leg qualifier against Hearts, when he scored and assisted in a 4-0 win.

The Guardian states that the 17-year-old sees England and Real Madrid star Jude Bellingham as his role model, while he also watches Liverpool's Ryan Gravenberch closely.

Weinhandl is right to see Bellingham as a big influence too, because the two are very similar in many ways on the pitch.

Both are tall midfielders, with the teenager standing at 6ft 3in, while he has shown in his appearances for Sturm Graz that he is technically-gifted and glides past his opponents with ease, similar to the Three Lions star.

Weinhandl is also strong and powerful and is beginning to show leadership skills even though he doesn't turn 18 years of age until January.

Of course, the midfielder is nowhere near the level of Bellingham yet, but as a 17-year-old who is improving at a rapid rate who has a similar style, Arsenal may feel that he could be their future version of the Real Madrid superstar.

His teammates have certainly been impressed with what they have seen, with Otar Kiteishvili raving over him.

> Luca is incredible At 17, I hadn't even played in the league myself – and now he's playing in the Europa League.

Weinhandl clearly has a bright future ahead of him if he continues to apply himself in the way he has been, and if Arsenal win the race to sign him they will be confident of developing him to become one of the best in his position, just like Bellingham.

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