Arsenal are on the brink of completing the sale of young defender Zech Medley to K.V. Oostende with Football.London reporting that the talent is expected to travel to Belgium in the ‘coming days’…
Chris Wheatley, the chief Arsenal reporter for Football.London writes that the Gunners have inserted a sell-on clause into the deal, whilst they’ll also have the first refusal on Medley if he leaves Oostende.
It’s added that the 20-year-old has chosen to take on a ‘new challenge’ with a switch to the Belgian top-flight side offering Medley the chance to play regular first-team football.
That would be very unlikely if Medley, who spent this season on loan at Gillingham and Kilmarnock, stayed in North London considering the other highly-rated academy centre-backs that the Gunners have as well as the bloated number of options that Mikel Arteta has to call on in the first-team.
Medley, who joined Arsenal from the academy of rivals Chelsea in 2016, is contracted to the Gunners until next summer, with the club holding the option to extend the deal by a further year.
Given the relatively short amount of time left on Medley’s contract and only a season of senior football to his name, it will be interesting to see how much Arsenal will bank from the imminent sale.
Medley spent the first-half of this season on loan at Gillingham, where the 6ft5 ace made 18 appearances with seven of those coming at left-back rather than his natural position.
The mid-season loan switch to Scotland brought Medley more action at centre-back, but the move didn’t go to well as Kilmarnock were relegated from the Scottish top-flight for the first time in 28 years.
It’s certainly smart for Arsenal to negotiate a sell-on clause in the deal as Medley will have the chance to showcase his ability and show signs of his potential in Belgium, holding a first option on the defender could also work out to be a shrewd decision.