A new report has revealed why Arsenal decided to offload talented defender Ayden Heaven to Premier League rivals Manchester United.

Heaven progressed through the ranks at Arsenal, but he opted to leave the north London outfit and join Man Utd at the start of this year.

The Red Devilspaid an undisclosed fee to sign the 19-year-old, who penned a four-year contract with an option of an extra year.

This was viewed as a coup at the time, as Heaven was highly rated at Arsenal, with the centre-back joining fellow youngsters?Chido Obi Martin, Sekou Kone, Diego Leon in joining Man Utd.

Speaking on the move in January, transfer expert Fabrizio Romano said:?‘The next one could be Ayden Heaven, a talented 6 ft 3 centre-back born in 2006 who’s out of contract at Arsenal at the end of the current season.

‘Arsenal have offered the “remarkable” youngster a new deal, while Eintracht Frankfurt and Man United made an approach with United clearly seen as favourites to land Heaven at the end of the season.

‘He was in attendance at Old Trafford on Thursday for Europa League game against Rangers and sources say Barcelona also called to be informed on his situation. However, Man United are confident to make it happen in the next months.’

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Man Utd were right to feel confident as the deal did go through and Heaven has impressed in the first team under head coach Ruben Amorim over the past year.

The teenager has already made eight Premier League appearances for Man Utd and he recently paid tribute to Amorim for “trusting” him “a lot”.

“There’s so many great defenders at this club that he’s trusting you to be at the middle of that defence. He’s trusting me a lot,” Heaven said on Amorim.

“I feel like I’m working hard every day in training and I’m showing he can trust me in the games that I’m playing.

“I thought I was a good player but I knew that I first had to gain the trust of the manager and slowly I know I’m doing that. I feel like I’m doing well at the moment, but I’ve just got to keep working.”

He added:?“I’m enjoying it because knowing you have that experience around you, you are not scared to go on the front foot and not scared of what you leave behind either. They’re always there when I need them.”

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Now, a report fromThe Daily Mailclaims Arsenal were not too disheartened at losing Heaven because 16-year-old?Marli Salmon is viewed as a ‘baby William Saliba’, while a ‘path to the first team is already marked out’.

The report added:

‘So much so, Daily Mail Sport understands that the departure of Ayden Heaven, 19, to Manchester United in February was accepted internally because they knew what they had in Salmon.’

Regarding Salmon, a source for the outlet said: ‘On the ball he’s excellent, and physically for his age he’s strong.

‘Typically, you get chances as a centre back at first-team level later on as you then grow into an adult, but he could well be one of the players that breaks through and gets an early opportunity. He was outstanding against Bayern Munich’s Under 19s and put in some great tackles.’