Arsenal Wonderkid Transfer Set for Delay as Teenager Remains on Loan
Arsenal’s highly rated 17-year-old prospect Andria Bartishvili is expected to remain on loan in Georgia for another six months before officially joining the Gunners.
The young winger is due to move to Arsenal next summer after the club agreed a reported £3.9million deal with Kolkheti 1913. However, because Bartishvili will not turn 18 until next year, he cannot complete his move to the Emirates before then.
Bartishvili is currently playing for Georgian top-flight club Iberia 1999, where his loan spell is scheduled to end in December. Arsenal are now understood to be in discussions with the club over extending that arrangement until the summer.
Iberia are competing near the top of the Georgian league and are also involved in the Europa Conference League, giving the teenager valuable first-team experience.
Kolkheti 1913, meanwhile, are competing in the second tier and face the possibility of relegation. That makes another six months at Iberia an increasingly attractive option for Bartishvili, who is reportedly settled at the club.
Arsenal have maintained contact with Iberia throughout their scouting process and are expected to continue monitoring the youngster before his eventual arrival in north London.
Bartishvili has already attracted attention in Georgia and has been compared with Napoli star Khvicha Kvaratskhelia because of his style and potential.
