Here at Daily Cannon, we are great fans of rumours that have their own endless life spans. Cavani, Mexes, Sebastian Frey…

An under the radar story that has been bubbling on and off for a while is that linking arsenal to a move for 17-year-old Charlton defender Joe Gomez, as reported in Metro, and previously in The Telegraph.

Apparently it is Manchester City, in their new drive for a homegrown core, who are Arsenal’s main rivals for the promising youngster’s signature, but it is felt that the positive relationship between the two London clubs favours Arsenal.

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LONDON, ENGLAND – AUGUST 19: Simon Dawkins of Derby County is challenged by Joe Gomez of Charlton during the Sky Bet Championship match between Charlton Athletic and Derby County at The Valley on August 19, 2014 in London, England. (Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images)

Gomez has 23 first team appearances for Charlton Athletic this season, at full-back and centre-back, and having signed a three-year professional contract in November has surpassed all expectations for the season so far. That said, Arsenal were said to have made enquiries as long as two years ago, and have been watching the player since then.

The east-Londoner has also been a regular for England at u16, u17 and u18 level.

A figure of £8million has been suggested, but it seems likely that much of this would be in add-ons and conditional clauses.

It seems a very Arsenal-esque signing, and a footballing centre-half of the future would be very welcome given the comparative paucity the club has at youth level.

There was a nice write up of the player (and some other Charlton youngsters) on London 24 in March.