Amario Cozier-Duberry has been likened to Bukayo Saka (Picture: Getty)
Arsenal have begun negotiations in order to try and secure the future of one of their most promising young players.
Amario Cozier-Duberry is currently in the last six months of his current contract and has a number of high-profile suitors.
According to the Evening Standard, the likes of Borussia Dortmund, Newcastle and Ajax are monitoring the teenage winger’s situation carefully.
The 18-year-old is yet to make his first team debut for the Gunners but is highly regarded by Mikel Arteta and was rewarded for his progress with a place on Arsenal’s first team pre-season tour of America last summer.
Given his size and ability to cut in on his left foot, Cozier-Duberry has been likened to Hale End’s most high-profile academy graduate of recent times, Bukayo Saka.
Give his left-footedness and willingness to cut in from the right flank, the comparison is an easy one, but it is not without foundation according to his Under-18s coach Jack Wilshere.
‘Amario is very exciting and Mikel [Arteta] likes him,’ Wilshere told the Athletic last year.
To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web
browser that
supports HTML5
video
‘He reminds me of Bukayo Saka, plays in the same position as him, needs to get better with his decision-making like Bukayo did, but he’s definitely exciting.
‘In some moments he’s unplayable. You give him the ball and he can make things happen. You can set up a team and have a game plan, but when you’ve got individuals like that you’ve got a chance.’
Arsenal, meanwhile, travel to Nottingham Forest this evening looking to revive their title challenge an build on the momentum generated by their recent 5-0 win over Crystal Palace.
More Trending
They will meet a Forest side who boast a solid home record at the City Ground, but one that is currently coping with a string of high-profile absentees.
‘I see what we can manage with our preparation and this is what we have tried to do against a team with a manager who I know really well,’ said Arteta at his pre-match press conference. ‘It’s going to be extremely competitive.
‘We’ve had some really bad experiences over there in the last two seasons, so we’re going to have to be really good to beat them.’