Saints and Arsenal after attacking ace Juan Quintero from Porto
Premier League top four chances Arsenal (8/15) and Southampton (11/4) are chasing Porto midfielder Juan Quintero ahead of a possible summer move, according to tabloid reports.
The Colombia-capped playmaker has impressed since moving to Europe, firstly with Pescara in Italy and then with the Portuguese giants.
However, the 21-year-old is still yet to cement a regular place in the starting XI, having mainly been used as an impact substitute for the Dragons since his arrival last season.
Despite that, though, he is still gaining much attention from the Premier League, perhaps due to his comparisons to compatriot and former Porto player James Rodriguez, who is now at Champions League winners Real Madrid (11/4 to defend their title).
Like James, as he is simply known, Quintero is small in stature, has a wicked left foot and is a set-piece specialist. He also likes to dribble with the ball, and has even been likened to Argentine legends Diego Maradona and Lionel Messi.
However, Quintero prefers to play further back than the aforementioned trio, perhaps more in the style of potential Gunners teammate Jack Wilshere.
Quinero has already earned caps for Colombia, despite his young age, and even scored at the recent World Cup finals, against Ivory Coast in the group stage, after coming off the bench.
Although Southampton boss Ronald Koeman may be able to hold on to his stars until the end of the season as they are genuine top four chances, they are currently in fourth and two points clear, the south coast side could face another exodus.
The likes of Morgan Schneiderlin, Nathaniel Clyne and Jay Rodriguez all are reportedly set to leave at the end of the season, so Koeman will need to recruit.
Arsenal, who are down in sixth and three pints behind the Saints, meanwhile, will be looking to replace the likes of ageing stars Mikel Arteta and Mathieu Flamini, who is out of contract in the summer. British duo Wilshere and Aaron Ramsey are also too injury-prone for Arsene Wenger to rely on.
In related news, Southampton are also reportedly keeping tabs on another Porto player, Bruno Martins Indi. The Netherlands defender was a Manchester United target last summer.
