Cheltenham Town chairman Paul Baker has confirmed that an agreement has been reached with Arsenal for schoolboy player Jamie Edge to join the Premier League giants.

The 15-year old from Churchdown recently returned from an Under-16 tournament in Italy where he represented Arsenal against some of the leading clubs in Europe having already impressed Arsenal's staff in a schoolboy match against Portsmouth two months ago.

"Cheltenham Town have reached a financial agreement with Arsenal for the transfer of Jamie Edge," said Paul Baker.

"We believe it is an excellent deal for the club both in terms of the money we will receive this season and next and further payments that become due depending upon the progress Jamie makes at both club and international level.

"It is a particularly exciting opportunity for Jamie who now has to agree personal terms with Arsenal before the deal can be confirmed.

"It also confirms the fantastic progress our youth set up has made over the years that teams such as Arsenal and Manchester United should be showing real interest in one of our players."

Jamie has been a Cheltenham Town player since the Under eight age group and has progressed right through the club's youth development system. This season his progress has been rapid enough to earn him a place in the Under-18 side and even a couple of appearances for the reserves. His progress quickly attracted interest from a number of leading clubs with Arsenal leading the chase.

It has been a fine year for the Centre of Excellence, which was established in 2000. Current first team players Shane Duff, David Bird, Andy Gallinagh, Marley Watkins and Jack Durrant have all broken through into the first team from the youth ranks. In addition, first year Scholars Jake Lee and Kyle Haynes have already made appearances in the Coca-Cola League and last summer Theo Lewis scored for the first team in a pre-season friendly when aged only 16. 

The clubs have agreed not to disclose the compensation figure in relation to Jamie's move to Arsenal but the terms include an initial payment plus further instalments depending upon Jamie's progress while at Arsenal.