Belgian clubs Standard Liege and Eupen are competing for the permanent signing of Arsenal’s Nathan Butler-Oyedeji, according to a report.

Nathan Butler-Oyedeji competes for the ball for Accrington Stanley (Photo via Accrington Stanley on Twitter)
Nathan Butler-Oyedeji competes for the ball for Accrington Stanley (Photo via Accrington Stanley on Twitter)

Pete O’Rourke reports for Football Insider that Arsenal youth forward Nathan Butler-Oyedeji is wanted by Standard Liege and KAS Eupen in Belgium, with the Gunners willing to let the 21-year-old leave this summer.

Both clubs are interested in a permanent deal, which would probably be a good thing for the youngster after a stop-start couple of years.

Nathan Butler-Oyedeji with the EFL Trophy Player of the Group Stage award (Photo via Arsenal Academy on Twitter)
Nathan Butler-Oyedeji with the EFL Trophy Player of the Group Stage award (Photo via Arsenal Academy on Twitter)

Butler-Oyedeji spent the first half of last season on loan with Cheltenham Town, but he never really had a chance with the League One club as they failed to offer him a single start in all competitions.

The Arsenal academy graduate returned to London for the second half of the season, and he ended up scoring six goals and assisting two in his 14 Premier League 2 appearances in 2023/24.

The versatile forward was particularly effective in the play-offs, scoring a brace against Manchester United in the round-of-16 and another goal against Chelsea in the quarter-finals.

Nathan Butler-Oyedeji celebrates his goal against Stevenage (Photo via Arsenal Academy on Twitter)
Nathan Butler-Oyedeji celebrates his goal against Stevenage (Photo via Arsenal Academy on Twitter)

Another season of u21 football would be unlikely to tell us anything we don’t already know about Butler-Oyedeji, so if he has good offers from elsewhere, now is the time to move on.