Exclusive: Arsenal believe they’ve secured transfer of top talent with big future, says expert

Arsenal believe they’ve signed a top young player in the form of English goalkeeper Tommy Setford, who has recently been confirmed as joining the club from Ajax.

Speaking exclusively to CaughtOffside for his Daily Briefing column, Charles Watts provided some insight into Arsenal’s pursuit of Setford and their plans for what to do with him next in terms of fast-tracking his development.

According to Watts, we can expect to see Setford training with the Arsenal first-team goalkeepers, giving him the chance to learn from David Raya, while he’ll then mostly play for the Gunners at Under-21 level.

Setford looks like he could be a good fit for Arsenal in the long run, even if it will likely be some time before we see him featuring for Mikel Arteta’s senior side.

Setford transfer: Arsenal expert discusses the new goalkeeper signing

Watts certainly seems to have high hopes that this is a deal that will eventually come good for AFC, and it will be interesting to see if their development plans for him work as intended.

“The addition of Tommy Setford is an interesting one. I have to admit, it’s one that came a bit out of the blue for me, I hadn’t heard anything about their interest until this summer,” Watts said.

“But this was always going to be the summer which was going to feature a big shake-up in the goalkeeper department at Arsenal, both at first-team level and in the academy.

“In the academy there has been a host of departures when it comes to goalkeepers, with Arsenal allowing several to leave. So they needed to replace them with quality and they identified Setford as an exciting talent they believe they can develop into a top young goalkeeper.

“He has been brought in to be first choice for the U21s this season, but he will also work with David Raya and the senior keepers on a regular basis at London Colney during the week as the club looks to fast track his development.”