Fabrizio Romano confirms striker signing is DONE

Liverpool have beaten Arsenal to the signing of an in-demand striker who has already passed a medical, and why the Reds came out on top has been revealed.

Both Arsenal and Liverpool sought to add firepower to their forward lines this window. The Gunners believe Viktor Gyokeres is the missing piece and hope the potent Swede can end their 20-plus year wait for a Premier League title.

Liverpool, meanwhile have signed Hugo Ekitike who despite costing £79m in total, could immediately play second fiddle to Alexander Isak.

But while those three strikers are very much players for the present, both clubs had one eye on the future when chasing Will Wright.

Liverpool quickly agreed a deal with Salford City for the 17-year-old hotshot, though were trumped by Arsenal who thundered in with a higher bid.

The expectation was Arsenal had the race won, but multiple trusted sources have all now confirmed it’s Anfield where the teenager will end up.

The Athletic’s David Ornstein was among those to report on Liverpool’s breakthrough, stating: ‘Liverpool have reached an agreement to sign young striker Will Wright from Salford City.

‘The Athletic previously reported that Arsenal agreed a deal to sign the 17-year-old in a deal worth around £200k plus add-ons.’

Taking to X, transfer guru Fabrizio Romano gave Wright’s move to Liverpool his signature ‘here we go’ confirmation.

Romano wrote: ‘Will Wright completed second part of medical as new Liverpool player from Salford City. Contract until June 2028, three year deal… and here we go.’

How Liverpool beat Arsenal to Will Wright

As mentioned, Arsenal had a club-to-club agreement with Salford City in place. The Gunners’ issue laid on the player side and failure to agree personal terms with Wright left the door ajar for Liverpool.

Explaining why Liverpool got the jump on their rivals, Ornstein revealed Wright favoured staying in the north west of England.

‘But personal terms were not in place with the north London side, which Liverpool have achieved after also satisfying Salford. Wright favoured staying in the North West,’ added the reporter.

Wright is the most highly regarded prospect in Salford’s system and had scored four goals in his first three pre-season matches for the senior side this summer.

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GO DEEPER: Who is Will Wright? ⬇️

By Samuel Bannister

Wright began to break through into the Salford City first team last season, making his debut in an EFL Trophy win against Wolves U21s in November.

A brief substitute appearance in an FA Cup drubbing by Manchester City followed in January, before League Two outings off the bench against Port Vale and Bradford City in February and March.

Wright’s experience of academy football is minimal and, still only 17 years old, there’s a belief he can refine his game further in an academy system.

Liverpool plan to add Wright to their U21 squad, where he would be learning from Rob Page.

At U18 level, he scored in the first two rounds of the FA Youth Cup for Salford last season, before they were eliminated. Across all age levels, he scored more than 50 goals last season.

A tall striker with the instincts to be one step ahead of his marker, Wright will be hoping to refine his promising technique as he takes the next step of his career.

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