St. Johnstone’s Callan Hamill has turned down Celtic and Rangers and is expected to join Arsenal once he turns 16 next year.
The Courier reported on Sunday night that Callan Hamill isn’t set to join Rangers or Celtic this summer, with the player instead opting to remain with St. Johnstone for a further year.
Jordan Campbell then added for The Athletic on Monday morning that after turning down the Old Firm, Hamill is now expected to join Arsenal next summer.
Hamill impressed during his trial with the Gunners, and he’s expected to make an official transfer once he’s eligible to do so – after his 16th birthday in March.
According to the same report, Arsenal will have to pay £111,000 in compensation to complete the transfer. That’s an improvement on the £32,500 St. Johnstone would have received if the player had stayed in Scotland and joined Rangers or Celtic.
Perhaps that goes some way to explaining why St. Johnstone have been so willing to help during this process, allowing Hamill to hold a trial with Arsenal this summer and scheduling further approved visits to the Gunners over the next year.
The player looks set to get the move he wanted, and St. Johnstone will earn more than three times as much as if he’d joined one of their Scottish rivals.
Hamill played for the Arsenal u15/16s in an Arsenal academy friendly against St. Albans in early July, before going on to feature for the Arsenal u18s in a 5-2 win over Brentford and a game against Paderborn later in the month.
The defender has since returned to St. Johnstone, playing for their u18s last week.
The youngster is a Scotland u15 international, making his international youth debut in late 2023. He’s made four u15 appearances, all of which were starts at centre-back, but he can also operate as a full-back.