PREMIER LEAGUE CLUBS VOTE TO RESUME MATCHES FROM MID-JUNE

Arsenal drop scouting bombshell as 10 contracts terminated amid cutbacks

EXCLUSIVE: 10 scouts who helped discover the likes of Bukayo Saka, Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Reiss Nelson have been told that their contracts won't be renewed amid cutbacks

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Arsenal are terminating the contracts of their youth scouting network because of financial cutbacks.

Ten part time scouts who helped discover the likes of Bukayo Saka, Ainsley Maitland-Niles, Reiss Nelson, Emile Smith-Rowe and Joe Willock were given the bombshell news on Thursday.

The scouts - who are paid up to £800-a-month on a retainer plus expenses - have been told their contracts will finish on June 30.

It highlights the crisis facing football on the back of the coronavirus crisis but there is genuine shock that a club the size of Arsenal has had to take this action.

A source told Mirror Sport: “These guys are among the best youth scouts in the country, have brought through the best kids and Arsenal have a reputation as one of the best clubs in the country for youth development.

“This is one of the biggest clubs in the world making these sort of cutbacks but football is like a village and every other club will now know they are available.”

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Teenager Bukayo Saka has made a big impression this season(Image: Action Images via Reuters)

The scouts were told by email by the club’s human resources department and also spoken to academy bosses Lee Herron and Steve Brown.

They have been told the hope is they will be re-employed from September 1.

But they will have to reapply for their original jobs and then go through safeguarding checks again.

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Nelson and Maitland-Niles are two youngsters who were picked up and have made the grade(Image: Stuart MacFarlane)

Arsenal have built a reputation of having one of the best youth set-ups in the world with their Hale End academy and has been famed for bringing through generations of future stars.

They have satellite centres across London and the South East where these scouts are based and have brought in the current generation.

Arsenal currently have one of the best cops of young prospects in the country who were by spotted by their network of scouts and signed up.

Arsenal said it was because there was no academy football currently going on but stressed they hoped to keep the jobs open.

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