DONE DEAL: Arsenal complete the signing of 20yrs young attacking prospects as Club website announced just now with Medical done this afternoon
Arsenal are in the mix to sign a player already drawing comparisons to the world’s second best midfielder, and a key official has confirmed an offer has been received, though it’s unclear whether it’s from The Gunners.
Arsenal possess the deepest squad in the Premier League and finally look on course to end their 20-plus year wait for a Premier League title.
But if Mikel Arteta, Andrea Berta and co have their way, the success they achieve this season won’t be a one-off, and will be sustained for many years to come.
To that end, a report from The Sun recently brought news of Arsenal looking into the signing of a young midfielder already compared with two of the best in his position.
Red Star Belgrade’s Vasilije Kostov is the player in question, and he’s already been termed the ‘Balkan Barella’ and ‘Serbian Pedri.’
Comparisons with Pedri should not be taken lightly, given the Barcelona and Spain maestro was the second highest ranked midfielder in the 2025 Ballon d’Or rankings. Only Vitinha – who won the quadruple with PSG – finished higher with regards to midfielders.
The Sun stated Arsenal are ‘vying’ with truly top tier competition in the form of Bayern Munich and Barcelona for 17-year-old Kostov.
The strength of the teams in the running for the creative midfielder – who has already been capped for the Serbian national team despite his tender age – tells you all you need to know.
Now, a second source, Football London, has backed up claims Arsenal want Kostov brought to north London.
Furthermore, they also brought news from Belgrade of Red Star receiving an offer of around €20m / £17m for the player, though it’s unclear right now which exact team made that bid.
Red Star Belgrade’s General Director. Zvezdan Terzic, told the outlet: “I can’t talk about exactly who has called but we have already received an offer worth €20million for him.”
Terzic was then queried on whether Kostov has the tools in his locker to make it big in the Premier League.
Without hesitating, he replied: “Of course but not just any team, he could play for one of the big six clubs.”
Football London concluded that Kostov is not expected to change clubs in January.
As such, any team signing the player this month may either delay his arrival until the summer, or loan Kostov straight back to Red Star to ensure he continues his development at a rapid rate.
Latest Arsenal news – Julian Alvarez / Mikel Arteta
In other news, Arsenal and Chelsea have held talks with intermediaries about a move for Atletico Madrid star Julian Alvarez, with the former Manchester City man’s future in the Spanish capital increasingly in doubt.
Elsewhere, Arteta has absolutely no intentions of ditching the Gunners for Real Madrid this summer amid links to the Bernabeu vacancy, a former Gunners star has told TEAMtalk, while a well-placed source has revealed all on the 43-year-old’s future at Emirates Stadium.
