Arsenal complete the signing of highly-rated 17-year-old Dutch ace – A smart capture for the future?

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Sourav Ghosh

Why Arsenal signing Joel Ideho is a good investment for the future

As per Football.London, Arsenal have completed the signing of highly-rated youngster Joel Ideho from Ajax U-18. The winger will be drafted into Arsenal’s youth teams with his progress set to be monitored in the next few years.

The club signed him along with Nikolaj Moller on deadline day with both players set to strengthen the youth setup.

Profile

Joel Ideho is a 17-year-old Dutch winger. He started his footballing journey at RKTW and moved to SC’t Zand. In 2016, he moved to Willem II and spent the next 4 years in their youth teams.

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Joel Ideho of Ajax celebrates with team mates Sontje Hansen and Christian Rasmussen after scoring to give the side a 3-0 lead during the UEFA Youth League match at Colovray Sports Centre, Nyon. Picture date: 18th August 2020. Picture credit: Jonathan Moscrop/Sportimage PUBLICATIONxNOTxINxUK SPI-0628-0117

He had a brief 3-month spell at Ajax U-18 where he played 6 games and scored a goal (source – Transfermarkt). Arsenal signed him on deadline day for their youth team and he is likely to play in the U-17’s as well as the U-23’s.

A good investment for the future?

Ever since the days of Arsene Wenger, Arsenal have had a habit of spotting relatively unknown and young players with good potential. While that trend may have gone down in recent times, Joel Ideho is surely one that fits the criteria.

Highly rated at Willem II and Ajax’s south setups, the youngster comes with a good reputation. Versatile enough to play on either wing, Ideho likes to play on the right. He is full of pace and trickery, with an eye for goal as well.

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Joel Ideho of Ajax scores to give the side a 3-1 lead during the UEFA Youth League match at Colovray Sports Centre, Nyon. Picture date: 18th August 2020. Picture credit should read: Jonathan Moscrop/Sportimage PUBLICATIONxNOTxINxUK SPI-0628-0010

Verdict

At 17 years of age, Ideho is tipped for greatness. At Arsenal, he will get every chance to develop and hone his skills. He should spend the next few years progressing through the youth squads before appearing for the first-team.

Arsenal have a good history of promoting youngsters from their academy. The likes of Bukayo Saka, Reiss Nelson and Ainsley Maitland-Niles are a testament to that.

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Joel Ideho is one for the future and there is no doubt about that. If he can keep up his hard work and progress at this rate, a call to the first-team would not be too far away.