‘I still can’t believe it’ - Carragher reacts to Myles Lewis-Skelly transfer claims

Jamie Carragher has questioned reports that Arsenal were willing to sell Myles Lewis-Skelly, insisting he could not understand why the club would consider parting ways with one of England’s most promising young players.

The former Liverpool defender expressed his disbelief over reports linking Arsenal midfielder Myles Lewis-Skelly with a potential move away from the Emirates Stadium.

Manchester United and Chelsea were reportedly mentioned as possible destinations for the highly rated youngster, with speculation claiming Arsenal could be willing to sacrifice the academy graduate as part of their efforts to strengthen the squad.

Discussing the speculation on The Overlap Fan Debate, Carragher admitted that the reports were particularly surprising because they appeared to suggest Arsenal themselves were willing to make the youngster available.

“That’s the thing that was a little bit strange about it. It felt almost like Arsenal offered Manchester United Myles Lewis-Skelly,” Carragher said.

The former England international explained that the situation would have been less surprising if Lewis-Skelly had expressed a desire to leave the club.

“It wasn’t Myles Lewis-Skelly saying, ‘I want to leave,’ or his people putting something out. That’s where the shock came from,” he added.

Lewis-Skelly has emerged as one of the most exciting products of Arsenal’s academy, making his first-team breakthrough under Mikel Arteta and showing an ability to operate in multiple positions.

Although naturally a defender, the youngster impressed when deployed in midfield, particularly during the latter stages of last season.

Carragher believes those performances are enough evidence that Arsenal should be thinking about developing Lewis-Skelly rather than allowing him to leave.

“I still can’t believe it. You can’t play at that level unless you’re pretty special at that age. All young players have ups and downs. Last season he didn’t play as much as he probably would have liked,” he said.