Arsenal close to landing 16-year-old Feyenoord youth team forward Joshua Zirkzee

Arsenal are close to making their third signing of the summer with the club said to be close to reaching an agreement with 16-year-old Feyenoord forward Joshua Zirkzee.

The Gunners are said to be leading the race to sign the young Dutch forward, who impressed with the Eredivisie team's youth teams last season. Zirkzee joined Feyenoord from ADO Den Haag last summer, but is ready to move on after he turned down an offer from his current employers.

The 16-year-old Netherlands Under-16 international scored 33 goals in various youth teams for the Dutch side, which has attracted interest from a number of clubs across Europe. According to the Sun, via Dutch outlet Soccernews.nl, Ajax were keen to take Zirkzee to Amsterdam, but his head has been turned by Arsenal's interest, with the Gunners now favourite to sign the free-scoring forward.

Feyenoord were keen to retain the young forward and even offered to promote him to their U19 team, for whom he made one appearance last season where he scored the winner against PSV Eindhoven. Zirkzee has turned down their offer and looks set for a move abroad.

The young Dutchman is unlikely to be promoted to the first-team if he chooses to move to north London this summer. Zirkzee is likely to join the Arsenal Academy in Hale End before making the step up to the senior team. He could be involved with Steve Gatting's U23 set up, which already features compatriot Donyell Malen and 17-year-old Reiss Nelson.

Arsenal will be looking to strengthen their youth ranks along with the first-team this summer after losing a number of young prospects in recent weeks. The major departures have been that of Chris Willock, who joined Benfica and Daniel Crowley, who moved to Dutch side Willem II.

According to the Daily Mail, Manchester United have also shown interest in signing Zirkzee, but Arsenal are hopeful of beating their Premier League rivals and taking the forward to the Emirates this summer.