Arsenal youth forward Alfie Matthews played in a trial match for Crystal Palace u23s against Crawley Town on Saturday, as he begins to sort his future.

On Saturday afternoon, Alfie Matthews featured on trial for the Crystal Palace u23s, according to Jeorge Bird. A move for Matthews away from the Arsenal academy was on the cards all summer, given his expiring contract. It now seems likely he’ll be transferring across London.

The player hinted at a ‘big move’ in early June, before the Premier League confirmed he was on an ‘excess period’ later that month. Arsenal allowed Matthews to keep training with the club over the summer, but it was pretty clear they weren’t agreeing a new deal.

Matthews scored five goals and assisted one in 15 u18 PL games this season. He was on a good run of form pre-lockdown, notching four of those goal contributions in his last six games.

The media previously linked him with a move to Newcastle, but it seems Palace is now the more likely destination. Given the trial game took place behind closed doors with no stream, we’ll have to wait to find out if Matthews did well enough to earn a deal or another trial.