Arsenal are reportedly in a battle with Bayern Munich over the potential transfer of Serbian prodigy Vasilije Kostov, who has been compared to Barcelona’s Pedri and is highly rated.
The 17-year-old attacking midfielder has already made 26 first-team appearances for Red Star Belgrade and has also earned a cap for the Serbian national team.
According to The Sun, Arsenal are currently tracking Kostov, who made an impressive contribution to Red Star Belgrade with six goals and five assists.
Still, the Gunners are probably not the only ones chasing this highly-rated young talent. He definitely looks like he has a big future in this game.
Arsenal could sign Vasilier Kostov for a bargain fee of £17m
The report also suggests Kostov could move in the summer for an asking price of just £17m.
Still, the fact that the Serbian international is available for such a cheap price is sure to encourage other clubs to join the race to sign him.
At the moment, Arsenal and Bayern seem to be the most likely to be linked with Kostov, but reports have also mentioned his past links with Barcelona.
Kostov, who can play wide or centrally, could make an immediate impact at the Emirates Stadium as a replacement for the likes of Martin Odegaard and Ebelesi Eze.
Will Arsenal increase their transfer fee?
Arsenal had a busy summer last year, signing Eze, Viktor Gökeles, Martin Zvendisch, Piero Hincapie, Cristian Mosquera, Christian Norgaard and Kepa Arrizabalga.
Most of these additions are aimed at making an immediate impact on Mikel Arteta’s side, but investing in players like Kostov could also be a good idea in the long term.
The North London Giants have often built their teams around young players in the past, and it has worked well for them as William Saliba, Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli have developed into key first-team players.
It will be interesting to see if they make him a priority in the near future, as Kostov could end up doing the same.
