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.

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