Arsenal youngster Marcus McGuane has been linked with a move away from the club this summer, with top clubs all over Europe reportedly interested in his signature.

According to the Independent, McGuane is the target of a variety of clubs, including Manchester United, Manchester City, Napoli, Juventus and a host of Championship clubs who are offering first-team football.

The 18-year-old is in the final year of his current deal and captained the England U18s last season. For Arsenal, he made a mixture of appearances for the academy, turning out 17 times for the U18s and nine times for the U23s.

This year, it seems he is being promoted to the U23 squad as he has made both of his appearances at this level so far, including a late substitute appearance in last night’s 4-3 win against Manchester City.

However, Arsenal may have to start giving the tough-tackling midfielder some more starts if they want to keep him given the interest in his services from clubs around Europe.

McGuane is considered to be a versatile member of the squad, playing both in midfield and in defence during the 2016/17 campaign. This is likely to be an important attribute in his progression with the Gunners, not least because Arsenal so commonly pick up injuries, I feel.

This versatility also helps because it gives Marcus a number of areas where he could break into the first-team, as we’ve already seen with Ainsley Maitland-Niles through his appearances in central-midfield, at right-back, right-wing-back, left-wing-back and centre-back.

That’s as long as the Gunners can hold onto him.