Arsenal, Manchester United, and Tottenham Hotspur have recently been linked with a move for Watford youngster Adrian Blake.
But reports earlier this week revealed that Manchester United were hoping to sign Blake in the upcoming summer transfer window – as well as his Watford teammate Harry Amass – despite Arsenal and Spurs having an interest in Blake.
The duo are products of Watford’s youth academy and Blake is the older at 17, having featured for the Hornets in both the EFL Cup and the FA Cup this season.
And transfer guru Fabrizio Romano has today revealed on Twitter that Watford ‘have no agreement’ on a fresh, long-term deal for Blake, and that the player is set to ‘explore opportunities abroad’ when his scholarship deal ends in the summer.
It had previously been said that Blake had been told he could leave Watford in the summer.
Understand Watford have no agreement on new long term deal with in demand acadamy player Adrian Blake. 🟡⚫️
Blake, now set to explore opportunities abroad when his scholarship expires in June. Fifa compensation will be due on a player who has featured for the first team twice. pic.twitter.com/qBGSxTQqsc
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) April 13, 2023
What next for Blake?
Blake certainly seems to have a lot of options ahead of the summer. Links to the likes of Arsenal, United, and Spurs are going to be attractive for him, and it seemed like he was going to United given the report that Erik ten Hag’s side were hopeful of sealing a deal for Blake at the start of the week.
But now it seems like Blake will keep his options open ad potentially head abroad. It’s becoming a more common path for younger players in England as they often get more exposure to the first-team when they go to overseas teams, so all of a sudden it seems like United could miss out on this signing.
For Watford, they’ll at least be due a bit of compensation here, but it’s still disappointing for them that Blake looks set to leave without ever making a league appearance for the club.