Arsenal are looking to a talented River Plate star to step into Mesut Ozil’s shoes this summer, while Man City are said to have agreed a deal to sign a disgruntled Germany star, according to Tuesday’s European papers. Arsenal are plotting a summer swoop to sign talented Colombia playmaker Juan Quintero, according to reports in Spain.
Unai Emery is looking to offload Mesut Ozil at Emirates Stadium after deciding his £350,000 weekly wage could be put to better use at the club – and he already has identified two potential replacements. The first of these, James Rodriguez, could however come with quite a hefty price tag, as well as significant wages too – meaning the Gunners may not save too much by signing the Colombian, who is currently nearing the end of a two-year loan deal at Bayern Munich.
And according to Don Balon, Arsenal have now identified Quintero as their No 1 target to replace the German – and have been given further encouragement after learning the 26-year-old could be available for a knockdown €22m later this year. Quintero starred in Colombia’s World Cup campaign last summer and also caught the eye with a standout display for River Plate in the Copa Libertadores final last year, scoring the decisive extra-time goal in a 3-1 win against arch-rivals Boca Juniors.
And the report claims Emery, and incoming sporting director Monchi, believe Quintero would represent a great signing for the club and fulfill the role in the Arsenal side badly lacking since Ozil’s exclusion from the starting line-up.