Andria Bartishvili

Bartishvili passes his medical: Arsenal have their Georgian winger for 2027

A 17-year-old Georgian winger and Under-21 international, owned by FC Kolkheti and on loan at Iberia 1999. Arsenal have tabled a pre-contract offer with a view to him arriving at the end of the year, when his contract expires. The move is led by Maurizio Micheli, Andrea Berta's assistant, who unearthed Khvicha Kvaratskhelia while chief scout at Napoli — hence the comparison doing the rounds. Liverpool and Juventus are also tracking the player, who has not made up his mind.

Latest development

1. 4 September — Medical done, and Romano calls it. “Andria Bartishvili can be considered a new Arsenal player,” he wrote on Friday: tests passed, deal formally sealed, contract waiting on a signature. The timetable does not shift by a day. The Georgian turns 18 on 30 March 2027 and Romano expects him in the first-team group the following summer; he stays with his club until then. Arsenal have published nothing and will publish nothing before 2027, because you do not announce an arrival you cannot yet register. So the entry stays at CLUBS AGREED — medical or no medical, a signature is still missing.

   2 September — The player is on his way to London. ArsenalNews and Daily Cannon report that the 17-year-old Georgian is travelling to England for his medical, before signing the agreed five-year deal. Nothing changes in the timetable, since the contract only takes effect in March 2027, when he turns 18 — British rules do not allow him to move any earlier.

   31 August: the 17-year-old Georgian is due to have his medical on Tuesday 1 September. The deal is worth around 4.5 million euros over a five-year contract, and Arsenal edged out Liverpool after two months of talks. He will only arrive in London in March 2027, when he turns 18, because British rules do not allow him in before then.