Arsenal officially announced that it will sign a long-term contract with 18-year-old Skelly, and it is reported that the new contract will be until 2030. According to The Athletic, the player himself attended and spoke in person at the meeting of the first renewal negotiations.
Skerley joined Arsenal youth training at the age of 8. At the age of 18, he gave speeches to head coach Arteta, youth training director Mertesak, then interim sports director Aito, and operations director James King in the meeting room of the club's board of directors. Such a move is very rare among players, and is even more unheard of for an 18-year-old player.
Skelly talked about his experience at Arsenal Academic College and the core values instilled in him there, talked about his own values and outlook on life, mentioned how to visualize beliefs, and gave examples of other athletes and the processes that motivated him, such as Kobe's "Mamba Spirit", expressing his desire to continue wearing the No. 49 jersey, because this number has special significance to him, to the club and to the fans.
Skelly also introduced the team that supported his career and expressed his expectations for long-term cooperation with Arsenal. It was a special experience for those present. The Skelly team designed the solutions, creative and insightful. Arsenal senior executives are not used to being reported by players, so they are naturally somewhat reserved. But seeing a youth training player, a local kid stand up and speak with a mature and firm attitude makes them feel extremely proud. Ultimately, the two sides formed a new five-year contract, and the 18-year-old Skelly became one of the highest-paid teenagers in the world.
According to sources who know the negotiations, this is actually a team-based process, represented by Skelly's mother, Marcia Lewis, who studied for a master's degree in football business and passed the FIFA football agent exam. But instead of guiding her son’s career alone, she formed a team of experts in various fields to help manage Skelly’s career.
Although Skelly's first priority is playing football, he has a strong interest in all aspects of his career and hopes to play an active role in the negotiations. Marcia does not want the meeting to be just a traditional talk limited to the exchange of financial expectations. She hopes to show a deeper content that reflects Skelly's value, as well as his journey and their desire to continue to work with Arsenal.
In addition to Skelly himself, Marcia and the player's father Paul also shared their experiences as parents of youth training players. For them, Mertesack's attendance was very important because he played a key role in Skelly's growth and had a great impact on Skelly's development with U18 coach Adam Bichar.
This talk also included some content from sports consulting company Analytics FC, which provided data support for contract negotiations for stars such as De Bruyne and Ben White. This time they not only studied Skelly's personal performance, but also placed the players in a broader context, demonstrating their understanding of the overall competitive landscape.
Although there have been some informal exchanges since the beginning of the year, the renewal really started in March. Shortly after he took the initiative to contact Skelly's team as Arsenal Sports Director, he impressed people with his knowledge of the players. The person who really ensures that the contract renewal is Operations Director James King, who is known as a negotiator and is also very approachable and the main contact person for negotiation.
Another key figure is Arteta, who Skelli is full of respect and gratitude, because it was Arteta's proposal to transform him into a left-back that accelerated his growth, and it was Arteta who saw potential in him that others had not seen. Skeley knew Arteta's trust in him and was determined to repay him. However, whether the players will continue to serve as left-back or return to the midfield is not part of the contract renewal negotiations. Skelly is just happy to be on the court and looks forward to the opportunity to enter England's World Cup squad next summer.