Cole Bassett to spend a week on trial with Arsenal’s U23s

Colorado Rapids midfielder Cole Bassett is spending a week on trial with Arsenal during the international break.

According to the Denver Post, the player, who is also an Arsenal fan, will head to London in a bid to impress.

Bassett confirmed the news himself and spoke of his excitement:

As most people already know, this is my favorite club. I don’t know which team it will be because it’s an international break for them. Hopefully, there will be a couple of guys missing with the first team and I can get with them. But I’m just excited to get over there and show up basically.

He’s a player that the Gunners would’ve seen up close and personal over the summer after he started in a pre-season friendly against the club.

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Rapids are also owned by Kroenke Sports & Entertainment, so it’s easy to see why the Gunners will be aware of Bassett’s talents at such a young age.

The report adds that he’ll train with the U23s over the international break and what an opportunity it’ll be for him.

There will surely be some first-team players in and around the youth teams over the international break, so he’ll have the opportunity to really test himself alongside the best.

Bassett has already trained with Bundesliga side Freiburg, so he’s player that is being tipped to make a big move into Europe and if Arsenal can develop a strong link with the MLS side, he could be the first of many to move across the pond.

Growing a club’s portfolio is something we’re seeing more and more of in the modern day Premier League and it’s a move that can have both commercial and professional benefits for the Gunners.

Manchester City have done it brilliantly, with clubs all around the world linked into ‘The City Group’.

By developing these relationships, the Premier League champions have connections to players from United States, Australia, Japan, Spain, Uruguay and China – Arsenal would surely love to be in that position too.