Arsenal are said to be monitoring Paraguayan youngster Julio Enciso ahead of a potential bid during the summer window.
The Gunners look set to be one of the most active Premier League teams as Mikel Arteta looks to continue his dramatic overhaul of the playing squad. Last year saw Arsenal spend almost £150million on six players, all of whom were 23 or younger.
And the Spaniard’s youth revolution could continue at the end of the season, with 18-year-old Enciso on the agenda, according to reports from the player’s homeland.
Cronica via Sport Witness claim that Everton Gushiken, who works for the Gunners as a scout, was in attendance during Cerro Porteno’s league clash with Libertad on Sunday.
The report claims that Gushiken was casting his eye over striker Enciso and central defender Alexis Duarte during the home side’s 4-0 victory.
Enciso has been in fine form this season, having scored 10 times in as many appearances in the Paraguayan top flight. A striker promises to be right at the top of Arteta’s wishlist, with Alexandre Lacazette and Eddie Nketiah both set to leave.
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The two forwards are out of contract this summer and their departures will leave a gaping hole in the squad following Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s surprise January exit. Lacazette has confirmed he has several options on the table, including his former club Lyon.
“I am in discussion with a lot of clubs,” he told Canal over the weekend. “I have never cut ties with Lyon since I left. I try to return to the club once or twice a year to see the medical staff again because we are really close. They know that I am free [in the summer], they made enquiries.
“I want to play in Europe, it’s been a long time since I played in the Champions League too, so I miss it. Nothing is impossible in life but it’s a little more complicated [for Lyon without Europe].”
Arteta has already hinted that the Gunners will be busy during the summer, speaking earlier this month, he said: “I think both competitions [the Champions League and Europa League] require a much larger squad because the amount of games you play is much bigger in both, so I don’t think [which you qualify for] makes a lot of difference or changes a lot.
“If you can financially afford it and we don’t have to do the turnaround in the squad that we’ve had to do, if you ask me what I want it’s 22 outfield players and three goalkeepers.
“You have to come a long way in the aspects that you see on the pitch, it’s a lot of things that have to be put in place, and that takes time.”
Arsenal’s shallow squad has started to take its toll with their quest for a Champions League berth taking a major hit in recent weeks. Defeat to Southampton last weekend made it three losses on the spin, leaving them three points behind north London rivals Tottenham having played one game fewer.
