The name Valentin Antov might not mean a whole lot to you, but Arsenal and Manchester United know exactly who he is.
That’s according to Il Resto Di Carlino, relayed by TuttoBolognaWeb, as they claim the player was being watched by both the Gunners and the Red Devils with a view to signing him in the summer.
Instead, Bologna jumped into action and signed him in January on a loan with a view to buy at €3.5m, which will become compulsory if he makes more than eight appearances that last at least 30 minutes.
The Bulgarian centre-back was already a captain at CSKA-Sofia despite being only 20, which shows his maturity for his age.
He’s already got three full caps for his country, which is why Arsenal and Manchester United had him at the ‘top of their notebooks’.
With a contract in Sofia expiring in 2022, the pair, alongside AS Roma, were waiting for the next transfer window to make their move, but that will now have to wait.
Who knows, maybe Bologna saw the opportunity to make a quick profit, and if Arsenal or Manchester United still have a desire to make the move, we’re sure they could convince the Serie A side to let him go for a fee bigger than the €3.5m.
