Arsenal youngsters Donyell Malen and Kelechi Nwakali have both left the North London club for clubs in the Netherlands on the final day of the transfer window.
Malen has made a permanent switch back to his home country to sign with Dutch giants PSV Eindhoven, whilst Nwakali has moved to newly-promoted Eredivisie side VVV-Venlo on a season-long loan.
A Dutch prodigy
Malen was part of Arsenal’s pre-season squad that travelled to Sydney, Shanghai and Beijing in July, and the Dutch forward featured in all four of the Gunners’ games on the tour.
The 18-year-old had been tipped to be one of the Arsenal youngsters to break into the Arsenal first team this season, however the Wieringen-born striker has decide to return back to his home country to PSV.
A client of football super agent Mino Raiola, Malen joined Arsenal in 2015 on a free transfer from the famed Ajax academy after spending eight years in Amsterdam, however Malen never managed a professional senior appearance in North London.
In 24 Premier League 2 appearances, Malen scored seven and assisted a further two. The versatile striker also featured for Arsenal in the UEFA Youth League, starting in all six of Arsenal’s Youth League games this season.
A second loan spell
Nwakali will be going to Holland for the second time in two seasons, after the Nigerian midfielder spent the 2016/17 season on loan at Jupiler League side MVV Maastricht, where the 19-year-old made 29 league appearances for the second-tier Dutch side.
Nwakali joined Arsenal from the Nigerian Diamond Academy for a reported fee of £3 million in January of 2016, and the midfielder has been tipped for great things from both Arsene Wenger and key figures in the Nigerian football set up.
Nwakali captained Nigeria to the 2015 U-17 World Cup where the then 17-year-old playmaker won the Golden Ball award for his performances for the Super Eagles.