Atletico Madrid are set to compete with Liverpool and their city rivals Real Madrid for the signing of Juan Fernando Quintero, FootballDirectNews.com understands.
The 21-year-old looks like one of the most promising young attacking players in Europe at the moment after a superb season with Porto this year, and seems a certainty to make the move to a bigger club in the summer as he continues to attract plenty of interest in the transfer market.
The skillful attacking midfielder has been hailed as the ‘Colombian Lionel Messi’ by some pundits, and it could be that he heads to the Premier League this summer, as Liverpool are reportedly keen on bringing him to Anfield.
However, Atletico are also likely to be in the market for new attacking players in the coming months as speculation grows over key midfield pair Koke and Arda Turan, both of whom have contributed greatly to this terrific season for Diego Simeone’s side. Still, Europe’s powerhouses are reportedly set to swoop for the duo, and Simeone is now understood to have identified Quintero as an ideal player to come in and fill either one of those positions, with the Porto starlet able to play centrally or out wide. With first-team football surely a priority for the youngster at this stage in his career, a move to Atletico could be seen as an ideal stepping stone for Quintero as he ponders his next club.
