Youngster’s dad confirms Arsenal are signing him ahead of Liverpool

Arsenal are signing Larne goalkeeper Phoenix Blayney for their academy, beating Liverpool to the punch, according to the player’s father.

Alan Blayney has confirmed that his son Phoenix is set to sign with Arsenal this summer, following a recent trial, before putting pen to paper on a professional contract when he turns 17 in November 2027.

“Everything has been agreed with Arsenal, he just needs to sign the con­tract,” Alan Blayney revealed.

“When he’s 17, he will sign a pro­fes­sional con­tract. It’s done and dus­ted and a pre-con­tract will be signed when the time is right.

“Phoenix enjoyed being at Arsenal, he felt a con­nec­tion there and really likes the coaches. One of his good friends Daniel Mccar­ron has joined the club and that’s prob­ably one of the reas­ons too. Him and Daniel play in the same North­ern Ire­land team.”

Alan Blayney also shared that Nottingham Forest and Liverpool had offered Phoenix a contract as well.

But Arsenal’s offer stood out the most as “the shining light between them all”, with the Larne youth goalkeeper viewing the move to north London as “a massive opportunity”.

Given Phoenix’s age, he won’t be part of Arsenal’s scholarship intake this season. A scholarship deal will likely arrive next summer, with a first pro deal becoming possible a few months later.

The Belfast Telegraph also reveal that Cliftonville youngster Riley McCreery will hold a trial with Arsenal, as the club clearly make an effort to snap up the best Northern Ireland talent.

As mentioned, Phoenix had spent time on trial with Arsenal earlier this year, as well as spending time with Liverpool.

Prior to those trials, the youngster had been named on the bench for Larne in the UEFA Youth League, and he made his Northern Ireland u17 debut in October.

The goalkeeper played a couple of UEFA Euro u17 qualifiers later that same month, helping his team to a 2-1 win over Armenia and keeping a clean sheet in a 0-0 draw with Cyprus.

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