Over the years, Arsenal have scoured world football to sign up-and-coming young prospects with a view of developing them into first-team players.
While Gabriel Martinelli is in poor form, there is no questioning how brilliant of an acquisition for the Gunners since they signed him from Ituano. On the opposite end of the spectrum, Marquinhos failed to have the same impact as his countryman.
Youngsters could leave Arsenal this summer as well as it takes the cream of the crop to remain consistently in the senior side. However, signing young talents tends to be a low-risk, high-reward strategy as the worst case scenario is the club potentially profit off their sale.
A youth sensation who has caught Arsenal’s eye is Red Star Belgrade teenager Vasilije Kostov.
Arsenal open talks to seal Vasilije Kostov transfer
Fabrizio Romano initially confirmed that all the speculation surrounding the 17-year-old Kostov and Arsenal is true.
Romano said on his YouTube channel: “Italian clubs and German clubs have been tracking him. But now, it’s true what’s being reported in Serbia, also, Arsenal are following Kostov and they are following him closely.”
Fabrizio Romano has also revealed that Arsenal have held talks with Kostov’s representatives. The Italian journalist emphasised that the potential move is yet to be considered a done deal though.
“They made contact with people close to the player. They are considering a move for him. Arsenal want to invest also on talents, not only on established players and so, Kostov is one of the talents Arsenal are monitoring. Then, it’s still early if Arsenal will close this deal.
“But Arsenal have genuine interest in this player. They’ve been scouting and following this boy and so this could be an interesting situation ahead of the summer transfer window.”
Vasilije Kostov is a record-breaker
Arsenal fans must be excited by their links to Kostov, considering he is one of Europe’s most exciting young talents.
The teenager is an attacking midfielder by trade and so far, he has set two records in his career.
- Youngest goalscorer in Red Star Belgrade’s history to score in the Europa League (17 years, four months and 21 days against Porto)
- Youngest goalscorer in the Eternal Derby between Red Star and Partizan Belgrade (17 years, nine months and 11 days)
The second record, in particular is impressive as the Eternal Derby is one of the most hardly-contested rivalries the game has to offer.
Keeping aside Kostov’s talent, the fact that Arsenal are eyeing a player who made history twice this campaign should excite the fans.
