Transfer Centre

Report: Arsene Wenger scouting homegrown Championship talent

By Joe Fish, Reporter | 24 January 2014

English talents Jamaal Lascelles, Alex McCarthy and Jordan Cousins are all apparently on Arsene Wenger's radar as he looks to ensure Arsenal fulfil their homegrown quota.

Arsene Wenger has allegedly been monitoring several English prospects at Championship clubs as Arsenal look to ensure that they will fulfil homegrown quota rules.

Premier League regulations state that, in their 25-man squads, every club must register at least eight players trained in England for three years prior to turning 21.

The Gunners already have the likes of Kieran Gibbs, Jack Wilshere, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Aaron Ramsey, Theo Walcott and Carl Jenkinson that fit this description, but Wenger is looking to add more.

The Daily Mail understands that Reading goalkeeper Alex McCarthy, 24, is one player that has apparently caught his eye, while Charlton Athletic's 19-year-old winger Jordan Cousins is also on his radar.

Nottingham Forest defender Jamaal Lascelles, 20, is a long-term Arsenal target and is still being closely watched by Wenger's scouts, but is also admired by Tottenham Hotspur and Everton, who were this week fined £45,000 by the Football Association for their "unauthorised approach" for him in 2010.