Crystal Palace youngster Mylo Bernard has agreed to join Arsenal, with the Gunners reportedly only needing to pay a training compensation payment.
James McNicholas reports for The Athletic that 16-year-old Mylo Bernard has agreed to join Arsenal from Crystal Palace, with the player’s contract at Palace reportedly now up.
Youth players can’t move as ‘free agents’ in quite the same way as senior players, and Arsenal will still need to make a training compensation payment to Palace. But it should be more straightforward than your average transfer for a player under contract.
Sam Dean of The Telegraph had previously reported that Arsenal were closing in on the signing of Bernard from Crystal Palace, after Isaan Khan broke the news that the Gunners were pushing hard to acquire the striker this summer.
Arsenal are hoping to add Bernard to the academy signings of Elijah Upson (Tottenham Hotspur) and Axel Donczew (Cardiff City, not yet official).
Arsenal have repeatedly made moves to sign youth strikers in recent transfer windows, but without much success. Bids for the likes of Blackburn Rovers’ Igor Tyjon and Hearts’ James Wilson proved unsuccessful in 2025/26.
That’s all led Arsenal to Bernard, who stepped up into u18 football on many occasions last season. U16 by age, the striker scored six goals in 708 minutes, a strong start to life in the u18 Premier League.
Bernard is also an England youth international, scoring four goals and assisting two in his eight appearances for the England u16s.
With any luck, the deal will soon be completed and announced, and the new signing can focus on the new season in north London. The u18 Premier League campaign kicks off this weekend, with Arsenal travelling away to West Bromwich Albion.
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