Gunners set sights on another Colombian talent.
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Arsenal could be set to follow up their signing of Colombian World Cup goalkeeper David Ospina with a move for his international team-mate Juan Fernando Quintero, it has emerged.
The exciting youngster, currently of Porto, is widely regarded as one of the most promising young South American talents at the moment, having drawn some comparisons with Barcelona and Argentina star Lionel Messi with his performances and style of play.
The 21-year-old can play in a variety of attacking midfield roles, and made an impact for Colombia at this summer’s World Cup, scoring a well-taken goal in his country’s 2-1 win over the Ivory Coast in the group stages.
Quintero has only been at Porto for one season, but has already attracted interest from the likes of Manchester United and Liverpool as well in recent times, as he forms part of an exciting generation of top-class Colombian talents.
The Porto starlet will be hoping to follow in the footsteps of the likes of his fellow countrymen James Rodriguez, Juan Cuadrado and Jackson Martinez in establishing themselves as among the best players in Europe, and a move to a big club like Arsenal could certainly be a good one to help him achieve his fine potential.
Rodriguez in particular has enjoyed a meteoric rise in the last year, moving to AS Monaco last summer after developing his game with Porto, before becoming the most expensive Colombian player of all time with a £63m move to Real Madrid in this year’s transfer window.
Arsenal will hope to submit an opening bid of around £15m for Quintero, though Porto are likely to ask for more as they look to prevent more of their star players leaving for moves elsewhere, though it is understood that Arsene Wenger is determined to bring the player to the Emirates Stadium, and could offer as much as £22m to do so.
Ospina’s presence at the north London club could help in persuading Quintero to move, and there is certainly a distinct South American feel to this Arsenal side now, with Chilean forward Alexis Sanchez also joining the club from Barcelona earlier this summer.