Andria Bartishvili has seemingly confirmed reports that Arsenal are yet to reach an agreement to sign him to a pre-contract deal, sharing an update on his social media pages.
Following reports from last week that Arsenal were set to make an offer for Georgian youngster Andria Bartishvili, there were some claims over the weekend that the Gunners had actually reached an agreement for the signing.
Yet GeoTeam denied the claims on Instagram this week, reporting that Bartishvili hadn’t reached an agreement with Arsenal, and Liverpool and Paris FC remain in the race for the teenager.
Arsenal and Liverpool are reportedly offering the same terms to the player, and Paris FC are basing their pitch on the opportunity for guaranteed minutes. But Bartishvili won’t make a decision until after his current club’s Champions League qualifiers, which kick off in July.
It’s hard to know which media outlets to trust when it comes to players from countries where Arsenal don’t often do business, like Georgia, but Bartishvili seemingly confirmed GeoTeam’s update by reposting it on his own Instagram story.
Assuming it was all true, Arsenal still have some work to do, and they won’t have an answer until mid-July at the earliest.
Sami Mokbel of the BBC had reported that Arsenal were set to make an offer for Bartishvili, aiming to sign the player to a pre-contract agreement, which would then turn into an official contract when the player turns 18 in March 2009.
The Gunners are unable to formally sign the player until then, as he’s not a UK national.
Bartishvili is currently on loan from Kolkheti Poti with fellow Georgian side Iberia 1999. As football in Georgia operates on a calendar-year basis, Bartishvili’s loan spell won’t end until December.
So far, the Georgia u21 international has two goals and two assists in his 16 games for Iberia, with all of those goal contributions coming since he broke into the starting lineup at the start of May. Iberia lead the Georgian first tier by two points after 19 of 36 games.
Bartishvili has also played for the Georgia u16s, u17s, u19s, and u21s in his young career, scoring two goals in two games for the u19s earlier this month.
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