No Walcott deal with Arsenal, insist Saints

Southampton claimed this morning that no deal had been struck with Arsenal for £10m (€14.6m)-rated teenager Theo Walcott.

Saints chairman Rupert Lowe and director of football Clive Woodward visited the Gunners’ training ground yesterday, but the Coca-Cola Championship club deny there was an ulterior motive behind the trip.

Arsenal are holding their regular media day at lunchtime, when manager Arsene Wenger is sure to face questions over the level of his interest in the 16-year-old.

Lowe, however, dismissed the notion his club were about to offload their prize asset.

“It is the first I have heard of it,” said the Saints chairman. “We would have to have agreed a fee for him to do that – and we have not done so. Clive Woodward and I visited Arsenal’s training ground on Thursday just to look at their facilities which are magnificent.

“Maybe that has caused some crossed wires? But we have not agreed to sell Theo. We want to keep him.”

The striker has a pre-contract agreement with Southampton to sign a professional contract on his 17th birthday in March.

But FIFA rules mean Walcott could sign for another club after his birthday with the Saints entitled to compensation – which could be around £500,000 (€732,000) - decided by a tribunal.

The proposed move to north London could land the Championship side £10m (€14.6m), with around 35% of the fee paid up front and the rest dependent on appearances and goals for the Gunners.

Lowe accepted there may come a time when it was right for Walcott to further his career elsewhere.

“We want him to stay as long as possible – but I cannot give any copper-bottomed answers and say he will be here for the next five years or two years or whatever,” Lowe said on the club’s official website, www.saintsfc.co.uk.

“We hope he will be and while he is happy that we are the club to give him the right career path to progress then I am sure he will stay.

“But if at any stage he wants to go then that will be a matter for him and his advisors and those he talks to.

“In the same way that supporters have jobs and sometimes move on, if he feels he is better served by a move then that is a matter for him.

“I don’t think we will feel for a very long time that we would want him to go and we never try to sell our players at 16 or 17.

“We want to get the best from him and for him to progress and flourish here as he has done so far. He is a wonderful player and we hope to have him for a very long time, but you can never say never and I cannot guarantee it.”

Chelsea and Tottenham are also reportedly keen on signing the England Under-17 international.

Walcott’s agent Colin Gordon told BBC Sport: “Our only concern is Theo’s best interest and development as a player.”