Cork City’s Cillian Murphy is on the verge of agreeing a deal to leave the club, with Arsenal in the mix looking to sign him on a pre-contract agreement.
John Fallon reports for the Irish Examiner that Cork City’s Cillian Murphy is close to agreeing a cross-channel transfer to Arsenal, who have been monitoring the teenager throughout 2025/26.
Borussia Dortmund are also interested, and they have the advantage of being able to sign Murphy immediately. Arsenal would need to wait until the player turns 18 to add him to their squad, which wouldn’t be until July 2027.
But Fallon claims the probability is that Murphy will remain with Cork City until that date, and a pre-contract transfer deal is currently the most likely outcome.
Arsenal have had some dealings with Cork City in the past, loaning them Joseph Olowu in 2020.
Cork City’s record sale is €500,000, but the report from Ireland suggests the club have recieved various proposals for Murphy that would smash that figure.
16-year-old Murphy made 20 senior appearances for Cork City in 2025/26, scoring a couple of goals and assisting a further eight.
The youngster is an Ireland u21 international, having stepped up from the u17s recently. He’d scored five goals in nine games for the u17s prior to his promotion.
Arsenal have done plenty of other pre-contract deals for youth players recently, including for the likes of Victor Ozhianvuna of Shamrock Rovers, and Edwin and Holger Quintero of Independiente del Valle.
With post-Brexit rule changes forcing Premier League clubs to wait until players are 18, the Gunners are clearly trying to find ways to keep picking up the best young talents before they blow up and become too expensive.
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