Arsenal missed out on Jadon Sancho BEFORE he went to Manchester City, could have signed a 14-year-old Christian Pulisic and were also in the running for Jude Bellingham, reveals their former head of youth recruitment
- Ex-Arsenal scout Steve Morrow has revealed even more missed Gunners targets
- The north Londoners were very close to signing Jadon Sancho on two occasions
- Arsenal also nearly bought Jude Bellingham while he was at Birmingham City
- Morrow recalls Chrstian Pulisic training at Arsenal as a 14-year-old youngster
Arsenal were close to sealing moves for Jadon Sancho, Jude Bellingham and Christian Pulisic before the trio made their names in Germany, claims former Gunners scout Steve Morrow.
Borussia Dortmund winger Sancho is one of the most highly-rated young players in Europe having risen to prominence since his £8million move from Manchester City in 2017.
Morrow, who held the role of head of youth recruitment for nearly 10 years before leaving in 2019, claims the Gunners missed out on the 20-year-old England international twice – once before he joined Manchester City in 2015 and a second time before he moved to Dortmund.
Ex-Arsenal scout Steve Morrow claims Arsenal were close to signing Jadon Sancho (left) and Jude Bellingham (right) earlier on in their careers
Morrow revealed Christian Pulisic (right) trained at the Arsenal training ground as a teenager
Morrow told Goal: ‘Every top club will say there were near misses. Jadon Sancho was certainly one of those.
‘We missed out on him once when he moved from Watford and went up to Manchester City, and then again when he reached that age at City when young players have a choice to make.
‘Jadon felt that his future was away from Manchester and we were very, very close to signing him, but the family felt at the time that the best opportunity for him was at Dortmund and off he went.’
Morrow (right) was the head of youth recruitment at Arsenal for a decade until 2019
Since moving to the Signal Iduna Park, Sancho has scored 46 goals and registered 60 assists for Dortmund and is a major part of Gareth Southgate’s England squad.
The winger has 12 goals and 16 assists in all competitions this season, having set a total of 20 successful strikes and 20 lay-offs leading to goals last term.
Sancho was joined at Dortmund last summer by teenage midfielder Bellingham, who completed a £25million move from Championship side Birmingham City.
Morrow claims Arsenal were negotiating a deal for the midfielder in 2019 when the player were contemplating a new contract at the Blues.
Arsenal tried to sign Sancho before and after his spell at Man City between 2015 and 2017
Morrow added: ‘There have been others (like Sancho). Jude Bellingham was another one that was very similar to that.
‘When he came to the end of his contract at Birmingham and was debating whether to stay there and sign a scholarship or move somewhere else, we were very close to that one as well. But sometimes it just doesn’t happen and you have to accept it.’
Meanwhile, Morrow claimed Chelsea winger Pulisic visited the Arsenal training ground around eight years ago but struggled with the physicality of other players in his age group.
The Gunners also tried to poach ex-Birmingham midfielder Jude Bellingham back in 2019
Pulisic trained at the Arsenal around eight years ago but joined Dortmund soon after that
The American went on to join Dortmund in 2015 before sealing a £58million move to Stamford Bridge in 2019. The winger went on to score against Arsenal in last year’s FA Cup final, which the Gunners ended up winning 2-1.
Morrow recalled: ‘Through our connections in the States, Christian was one that I actually had over at London Colney as a 14-year-old.
‘I did see his potential but he was certainly behind physically in terms of the same age group with our boys. I wanted to bring him back again, but it just didn’t work out and he went to Germany unfortunately.’
