Elijah Upson, the son of former England international Matthew, has signed for Arsenal after leaving Tottenham.
The 18-year-old turned down a professional deal at Spurs earlier this year and had offers from Chelsea, Manchester City, Everton, Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, Leverkusen and Monaco.
But, after visiting Arsenal’s training ground earlier this month and holding talks with his family, he has decided to join the Premier League champions.
He follows a similar path to his father, Matthew, who had two of his formative years with Luton Town before joining Arsenal for £2m as an 18-year-old.
Upson Snr played 57 times for the Gunners and won the Premier League in 2001-02, before he later represented England at the 2010 World Cup and earned 21 caps.
Upson Jnr, also a centre back, will hope he can build a similar career. He is quick, perhaps thanks to the fact his mother is former runner Ellie Darby, but also strong on the ball.
Elijah Upson has signed for Arsenal after rejecting a new contract offer from Tottenham
Upson is the son of former Arsenal and England centre back Matthew (pictured, right)
Speaking after his move was confirmed, the 18-year-old revealed he was attracted by the quality of defenders at Arsenal and the potential path into the first team.
He said: ‘That was one of the big reasons for my decision – obviously it’s great exposure to some of these great players that have had a great season here and some real top quality.
‘I’m excited to hopefully be around and work with these people. I think definitely the centre-back partnership in the first team that there is between (William) Saliba and Gabriel, they’re a good inspiration and really experienced, high-quality players.
‘They’ve had a great season, definitely two players that I’m really keen to learn from and expose myself to hopefully.’
Upson Jnr later added: ‘It’s a great feeling, I’m really proud to be here. When I met the guys here recently and met all the team and staff, it just seemed like a really nice environment.
‘That was probably the biggest factor, an environment where you feel you can hopefully learn and get better as a person.’
The defender had captained Tottenham at Under 18 level and also represented England at that age group.
In his welcome interview at Arsenal, he similarly outlined a desire for ‘some exposure to the first team’ this season and he is set to wear the No 57 shirt at the club.
Given Upson is under the age of 24, the Gunners will now look to agree compensation with Tottenham.
