Rumour Mongering: Chilwell Chooses Liverpool Over Arsenal

Liverpool have been linked, off and on, with Leicester City’s promising young left back Ben Chillwell over the past season. So too have Arsenal, leading many to speculate that despite Leicester’s stunning run this year that saw them go from relegation favourites to champions, they could be set to lose their best prospect.

Chilwell, 19 years of age and unsurprisingly a little ways down the depth chart in a side that hasn’t had to rotate, has only made three first team appearances for the Foxes—all coming in the FA and League Cup. Still, few doubt his top flight bona fides, and the expectation is that wherever he ends up, he will be in the starting picture within a season or two.

And according to Goal.com, where he ends up next is likely to be Liverpool after he informed Leicester City’s management he would rather move to Anfield than the Emirates in the summer. With just a year left on his current deal, a fee in the region of £5-8M would likely secure his services, though Leicester have shown a willingness to play hardball.

Last summer, Arsenal reportedly bid £3.5M for the young left back only to have Leicester reject it out of hand. Given that at the time they had only just escaped relegation and that, a year later, today they have only just gone and won the whole Premier League, nobody should expect negotiations over Chilwell to be especially quick or easy.

However, given he only has a year remaining on his current deal, if he is set on a Liverpool move one is likely to get done—if not this year than next, with Liverpool taking his compensation case to arbitration after his contract expires in 2017 as they did with Danny Ings. Leicester have been attempting to sign Chilwell to a new deal but, so far, he has resisted.

The Goal.com reports of Chilwell's desire to complete a move to Anfield this summer have been given added weight by club-connected journalists, who have confirmed that there is a similar desire to get a deal done on Liverpool's end.