Friday, 1st August, 2014
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has suggested that links to Juan Quintero have been manufactured by the media in a similar way to those surrounding Mario Balotelli.
The Gunners have been linked with signing Balotelli from AC Milan all summer, despite Wenger issuing a firm denial of any interest in the former Manchester City striker.
And last night it was claimed that Wenger is snapping up Quintero from FC Porto for £20m, with some reports claiming the Colombian midfielder was on his way to London for a medical.
But today, speaking at a press conference ahead of the Emirates Cup, Wenger firmly stamped on the speculation and compared it to that which has surfaced surrounding Balotelli.
"That’s wrong [on Quintero]", he said via his club's site.
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"For weeks we were buying Balotelli from one minute to the other and it was all wrong. We do not master all the noises that come out.
"I don’t want to give you any names but at the moment we are not after anybody in particular. Are we close? It depends what you call close. What I call close is imminent. On that front, we are not close", Wenger concluded.
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