Arsenal are now close to a permanent deal for free agent 19-year-old winger George Lewis, according to a report.

Goal report that a permanent deal for George Lewis with Arsenal is ‘now close’. The plan is for the young winger to join up with Steve Bould’s u23s after they finalise his contract.

This is further to recent reports of talks with the teenager. He previously played for Tromso IL, Tromsdalen and Fram Larvik in Norway, as well as training with Solihull United in England.

Lewis was born in Rwanda, but he’s a Norwegian citizen. He hasn’t featured for either country just yet, so his international options are still open.

This is certainly not a first-team signing. Lewis hadn’t fully established himself in Norwegian senior football yet, nor on the youth international stage.

The youngster is a right-footed winger who can play on either side. He has a number of tricks and skills in his locker, and his former coach describes him as an ‘impact player’. He’s quick, but he has work to do on his decision making.

Learning from Bould, Freddie Ljungberg and Mikel Arteta will hopefully help him in the right direction.

Lewis and his agent both seem confident of completing the move to North London.  Earlier this year, Lewis stated in an Instagram Live that he’ll join the club. Jeorge Bird also reported that Lewis’ agent says he’ll sign for the Gunners ahead of next season.