Yet another English youngster is looking abroad for playing time.
German newspaper BILD reported on Wednesday that 1899 Hoffenheim is closing in on a loan deal with Arsenal’s Reiss Nelson. The 18-year-old attacker made three Premier League appearances last season but has found himself on the outside of the first team squad this year, leading for him to look elsewhere for first team minutes.
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Nelson follows fellow England youth international Jadon Sancho, who moved to Borussia Dortmund in 2017 and has played Bundesliga matches, something he was unlikely to get in the Premier League with Manchester City. Keanan Bennetts left Tottenham this summer for Borussia Monchengladbach, Ronaldo Viera Nan left Leeds for Sampdoria, and Kaylen Hinds, a former teammate of Nelson with Arsenal, is in his second year with Wolfsburg. Man City also loaned 21-year-old Patrick Roberts to Girona, in La Liga.
It’s a positive sign for England’s youth department to see players move abroad and challenge themselves when playing time doesn’t appear at home, and could certainly bode well for the future.