Last night, Arsenal fans got excited on Twitter after reports had emerged that Porto’s highly rated attacking midfielder Juan Quintero was on his way to join the Gunners. The Metro relayed the news they got from ‘respected source’ (as per their claim) from Colombia.
Colombian journalist Diego Rueda (plus few others) claims that Arsenal have sealed a £15.8m fee with Porto earlier this week and that the deal is as good as done. Quintero was a part of Colombia’s World Cup team and made a good impression (bagged a goal to his name) in whatever little opportunities he was presented with. His impressive performances have caught the eyeballs of Arsene Wenger and the Frenchman wants the midfielder to join him at the Emirates.
However, such reports were soon thrashed to the bins, with the player’s agent now claiming Quintero is going nowhere at the moment, and the only way he can leave if any potential buyer triggers his €40m release clause. The only ray of hope here is, his agent doesn’t rule out the possibilities of the transfer completely. It’s up to Arsenal now: pay €40m and the player is all yours. Simple equation.
When asked about rumours of Quintero travelling to London to sign for Arsenal, he said: “Quintero travelling? Yes, but with Porto’s team who’s going to do a training camp in England, no?”
“A lot of clubs like Quintero, some of them from England. But liking Quintero is one thing, signing him is another. And Porto never told me anything about selling Quintero, on the contrary they fully trust him. The manager likes him a lot.”
“Quintero is calm and training with Porto, he wants to have a great season. If another club wants to sign, they will have to talk with us and Porto, but Porto aren’t selling. I only see one possibility: a club paying his buyout clause (40m). In football, nothing is impossible.”
Liverpool and Real Madrid were also thought to be interested in the 21-year-old, with both A Bola and O Jogo reported back in April that scouts of these clubs had watched him last season.
Use your logic here. Porto (or for that matter any Portuguese club) are known to be a selling club and why would they sell a top prospect for half the amount? Plus, Porto only own half of the player’s economic rights, that means they would only get around €10m, should they sell him for €20m. That is simply ludicrous, isn’t it?
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