Arsenal to offer pre-contract deal to Georgia u21 international

Arsenal are set to make an offer to sign Andria Bartishvili on a pre-contract deal, according to a report, though they’ll face competition for the signing.

Sami Mokbel reports for the BBC that Arsenal are set to make an offer for Andria Bartishvili, with talks ongoing over the move.

Mokbel adds that Arsenal are not the only club vying for Bartishvili, highlighting that the player has also been linked with a move to a number of Italian sides, including Juventus.

Arsenal would be looking to sign Bartishvili 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.

Another slight complication is that 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.

But that won’t stop Arsenal negotiating with the player’s parent club, and given the Gunners can’t bring him in until next March, he wouldn’t need to end his current loan spell early.

So far, the Georgia u21 international has two goals and two assists in his 15 games for Iberia, with all of those goal contributions coming since he broke into the starting lineup at the start of May.

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.

• Former Gunner joins Everton in deadline-day move
  Everton completed the signing of former Arsenal player Ainsley Maitland-Niles on deadline day, with the 29-year-old signing a three-year contract.
• Is Gabriel Martinelli still joining Al-Hilal from Arsenal?
  Gabriel Martinelli’s transfer from Arsenal to Al Hilal still hasn’t been confirmed after Tuesday’s Premier League deadline day, so is the move still going ahead?
• Ex-Arsenal 26yo to complete post-deadline-day transfer to Feyenoord
  Reiss Nelson has completed a free transfer move to Feyenoord after departing Arsenal via a mutual contract termination, according to a report.
• Failed Everton transfer has implications for Arsenal & Chelsea
  Folarin Balogun’s transfer to Everton fell apart late on deadline day, denying Arsenal a sell-on fee and seemingly causing significant problems for Chelsea in the process.
• What happened with Arsenal target Malick Fofana?
  Malick Fofana ended up joining Sunderland on transfer deadline day, after a whirlwind 24 hours during which he looked set to join three different clubs.