Manchester United have confirmed the arrival of teenage centre-back Ayden Heaven from Arsenal on a long-term contract.
The 18-year-old joins the Red Devils following a relatively quick negotiation process, as the 20-time English champions moved quickly to strike an agreement with the Hale End academy product.
Heaven - who made just one first-team appearance for the Gunners - has penned a four-and-a-half year contract at Old Trafford until the summer of 2029, and his terms also include a 12-month extension option.
The club have also confirmed that Heaven will immediately join up with Ruben Amorim's first-team squad as opposed to continuing his development in the youth teams, meaning that he could make his debut imminently.
Heaven will not be considered for selection against Crystal Palace on Sunday, but the 2006-born protege could make his first appearance for Man United against Leicester City in the FA Cup next Friday.
Heaven: 'Man United dream has become a reality'
Manchester United is delighted to announce the signing of Ayden Heaven 🤝#MUFC
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) February 1, 2025
Speaking to the official Man United website, Heaven described his switch to Old Trafford as a "dream" becoming a "reality", saying: "I am incredibly proud to join Manchester United.
"I'm grateful to everyone who helped make this dream a reality. There is so much that I want to achieve in the game, I'll be giving everything to continue my development and become the best player that I can be."
Technical director Jason Wilcox also paid tribute to Man United's "phenomenal track record" of developing young talent, as Heaven follows highly-rated striker Chido Obi Martin in swapping Arsenal for the Red Devils.
"We are delighted that Ayden has joined Manchester United. He is already an extremely talented defender who is ready to join our first-team squad in order to maximise his development," Wilcox said. "This club has a phenomenal track record of supporting young players and we believe that Ayden is in the perfect place to reach his excellent potential."
Just before Man United announced Heaven's arrival, the teenager took to Instagram to bid an emotional farewell to Arsenal fans, saying: "As the time has come for me to move on, I wanted to say how grateful I am to the good people at Arsenal who supported me during my time with the club.
"As a North London boy, I lived the dream of training and playing at Hale End and London Colney, as well as making my professional debut in the League Cup. A big thank you too to Arsenal fans."
Why Heaven's Man United move makes complete sense
© Imago
For a club that have always prided themselves on producing the most exceptional talents from their Hale End academy, Arsenal have seen more and more talented prospects choose to jump ship in recent times.
Heaven follows Obi Martin, Reuell Walters and Amario Cozier-Duberry in rebuffing Arsenal's attempts to keep him, but the truth is, the standards at Arsenal have increased significantly since Bukayo Saka and Emile Smith Rowe burst onto the scene.
Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly might now be fully-fledged first-team members, but the pair clearly possess an extraordinary gift that not every Arsenal youngster will have, and it is undoubtedly harder to progress from the academy ranks to the first team than it was just a few years ago.
As Harry Maguire, Victor Lindelof and Jonny Evans could all leave this summer, Heaven's progression to the first team at Old Trafford should be much quicker than it would have been at Arsenal, although it has been suggested that he was financially motivated to join the Red Devils.
Ben Knapton
