Arsenal have recently been quite busy with transfer activities involving their academy players. And now, another youngster who showed much promise at Hale End is being shipped to Serie A.
Brooke Norton-Cuffy to Sign for Genoa
The Youngster Was in High Demand
According to Italian journalist Fabrizio Romano, Arsenal have decided to sell right-back Brooke Norton-Cuffy to Genoa. The deal is expected to fetch them a fee of £3.4 million, including add-ons. With the defender’s potential in mind, the North London club has also attached a sell-on clause in the deal.
Norton-Cuffy is to sign a 5-year contract after Genoa overcame competition from Ligue 1, Bundesliga, and some English teams for his signature. He will undergo his medical in the next 48 hours.
Read More: Arsenal Set Terms for Transfer of 38-Goal Forward With ‘Great Work Ethic’
Norton-Cuffy joined Arsenal at 12 after leaving Chelsea. Consistently impressive performances at the academy level earned him his first professional contract in 2021.
But, a lack of enough first-team opportunities meant he had to go out on continuous loan spells across the country. He initially joined League One side Lincoln City in January 2022. He was later shifted to Rotherham United and Coventry City for the 2022/23 season.
His latest loan move was to the Championship side Millwall, where he spent the entire 2023/24 season, making 40 appearances and scoring twice.
Will Norton Cuffy Succeed at Genoa?
Ben White’s rise as one of the best right-backs in the Premier League had proven detrimental to Norton-Cuffy’s hopes of making the grade at Arsenal. Dislodging the former Brighton & Hove Albion man was an impossible task for the 20-year-old.
Read More: Manchester United Snatch ‘Unbelievable’ Starlet From Arsenal’s Clutches
Making things more difficult, Japanese right-back Takehiro Tomiyasu had arrived at the Emirates in the same transfer window as White. Thus effectively blocking the path to the senior squad for the youngster. Consequently, the academy graduate never made his debut for Arsenal.
But, a move to Genoa will provide enough first-team opportunities for the defender. There, he will compete with the likes of Stefano Sabelli and Alessandro Zanoli.
Genoa’s use of the 3-5-2 formation will benefit Norton-Cuffy as he is “powerful and technical“ enough to play both as a right-back and a wing-back. With Sabelli on the wrong side of the 30s, the Arsenal youth product has a great chance of establishing himself as a regular in the starting line-up.
