Journalist Charles Watts has claimed that Auston Trusty will probably never play for Arsenal amid recent transfer exit rumours.

What are the latest AFC rumours?

According to a report in the Daily Mail, Scottish Premiership outfit Rangers are hoping to land the American centre-back this summer with a £2m transfer fee being touted.

The defender appears to have caught the eye while impressing out on loan in the Championship with Birmingham – where has picked up the club's Player of the Year.

After such a good season, Trusty may well be hoping to now return to Arsenal and get a shot at some first-team minutes next term.

However, while speaking about the £14k-p/w centre-back on his YouTube channel, Watts seemed pessimistic about the likelihood of this happening.

He explained (13:05): “Trusty has been linked with Rangers. I think, you know, Auston Trusty has had a fantastic loans spell with Birmingham this season. He's never played for Arsenal. I don't think he will. I'll be surprised if he does.

"Whether he is part of the US [preseason] tour in the summer we'll wait and see. It might make sense to have Trusty with them for that.

“But I did an interview with him a couple of months ago and you know he was telling me that his dream is still to come back and make a name for himself Arsenal.

"But I don't know, you look at the defenders Arsenal have already got. I think they'll probably sign a centre-back in the summer. Will Trusty be a part of that long-term future? I doubt it."

Is Trusty going to join Rangers?

After initially joining the Gunners in January 2022, Trusty spent the rest of the campaign on loan with Colorado Rapids – who happen to be run by Arsenal owner Stan Kroenke.

Then at the end of the season, when he came over to England, he was immediately loaned out to Birmingham and so is yet to actually play for Mikel Arteta's side.

But if Rangers can make an acceptable offer which would see Arsenal turn a profit on the player, then they may well happily allow him to move on.

As Watts says, the Gunners may well be in the market for a new centre-back in the summer and with Champions League football to play, they will likely prefer to bring in someone who has more proven quality in the European game,