Arsenal have reportedly initiated talks with Crotone to sign their 17-year-old goalkeeper Aniello Viscovo
Italian publication TuttoMercatoWeb are claiming that Arsenal are showing interest in 17-year-old Aniello Viscovo. The Crotone shot-stopper has been impressing for the club at the under-19 level and is now on the radar of Arsenal, who have started talks over the possibility of a transfer for the youngster.
Aniello Viscovo is a 17-year-old Italian goalkeeper who is regarded as one of the hottest young prospects. The player is currently on the books of Crotone, the bottom-placed club in the Serie A. Viscovo is yet to feature for the senior squad and make his senior debut, but is the first-choice goalkeeper for the club’s Under-19 side.
The TMW report has reported that Arsenal are in the market and are on the lookout for a young goalkeeper to add to the squad. And, Wenger sees the Italian prospect as a potentially valuable addition.
The French manager only recently handed third-choice keeper Emiliano Martinez a contract extension and even tipped the keeper to have the potential to succeed Petr Cech in the Arsenal goal in the future.
According to local journalist @MFrattino, Arsenal have approached Crotone’s Aniello Viscovo, 17, after heavily scouting the Italian keeper. pic.twitter.com/x8z1n0HSTE
— Messi Minutes (@MessiMinutes) December 1, 2016
A keeper of David Ospina’s quality will not want to remain second-choice keeper for long and his lack of appearances could force him to think about his future at Emirates. In such a case, Martinez would be bumped to second-choice and Wenger would need another promising goalkeeper on the books to act as cover in the case of potential injuries.
Arsenal have been linked to another promising 17-year-old keeper in the recent past. Alban Lafont, though, is first-choice at Ligue 1 side Toulouse and given the interest in the player from other clubs like Juventus and Porto, would be tougher to sign, compared to Viscovo.
Despite being considered a hot prospect, Crotone are yet to offer the player a contract extension at the club with his current deal set to expire at the end of the current season.
Arsenal’s interest could alert Crotone into speeding up the renewal process for Viscovo. However, interest from the Gunners could also make Viscovo have second thoughts about extending his deal at Crotone.
