Arsenal have been scouting potential January signings including Ajax defender Jorrel Hato but a Brexit rule could prevent the transfer from taking shape.
Why would Brexit stop Arsenal from pursuing Jorrel Hato?
Jorrel Hato is 17-years-old which would make a move impossible giving the post-Brexit rule. Any overseas player under the age of 18 legally cannot join a club’s academy – a law that was introduced in 2021.
This post-Brexit law also now means that club are limited to three signings in the January transfer window, and six per season.
Hato turns in 18 in March, so Arsenal may be made to wait until the summer to sign their man.
Who is Jorrel Hato?
Hato is the latest youngster who’s making a name for himself in Europe. His natural position is at centre-back and has started to make regular appearances for Ajax last season.
Hato has made 40 appearances for Ajax in all competitions so far and has helped his side keep three clean sheets in the Eredivisie.
Hato has also captained Ajax twice and capped his first international appearances with the Netherlands last year. In the process he became the fifth-youngest ever to make an appearance for the Netherlands and can now dream of making their Euro 2024 squad.
Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to keep Ajax in the Europa League and their third place group table finish means they’ll have dropped down to the Europa Conference League but at just 17 years of age, he’s got a lot more to give and learn.
Where would Hato fit in the Arsenal team?
Arsenal have defended well this season and have the most clean sheets in the Premier League with seven. Top performances from the current centre-back partnership between William Saliba and Gabriel have contributed to this, so where would Hato fit in the Arsenal team?
Hato would be a strong addition to the Arsenal team as a squad player. He would be a great replacement if Saliba or Gabriel were to pick up an injury.
His European and domestic experience will help him adapt to the pressures of the Premier League and having strong squad depth would certainly make Arsenal strong title contenders for next season.
Ajax and Arsenal have already done business as Arsenal signed Jurrien Timber from them in the summer. Timber picked up an unfortunate injury in the summer, so he hasn’t made an appearance yet for Arsenal.
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