Italian side Carpi are hoping to make Arsenal youth player Renny Smith their first signing since winning the Serie B title.
The tiny outfit from the province of Modena will play for the first time ever in Serie A next season and are looking to build a squad that will help them avoid immediate relegation back to the lower division.
Tuttomercatoweb has exclusively revealed that 18-year-old Smith has had a successful trial with the club but that his agent Giorgio Boateng is trying to negotiate better terms for the player than those that have initially been offered.
The deal is still some way off being rubber-stamped but it is hoped that both parties can come to a mutually-beneficial arrangement.
The midfielder, who can also operate in defence, has already featured for the Austrian U18 team, for whom he is eligible through his paternal grandfather. Currently part of the Gunners U21 squad, Smith joined Arsenal from London rivals Chelsea in 2013.
