Juventus have won the race to sign 18-year-old Christian Makoun ahead of Arsenal and Real Madrid, according to reports in Italy.

Reliable outlet Di Marzio write that ‘young prodigy’ Makoun will be Juventus’ newest arrival this summer. Arsenal and Madrid were reportedly competing for the young defensive midfielder, but in the end they lost him to the Italian champions.

Makoun was previously playing for Venezuelan side Zamora B, and made 13 appearances for the club in 2018. Despite coming from South America, the player shouldn’t have any trouble moving to a European club, because he already has a Belgian passport.

The midfielder only turned 18 a few months ago, but he made his debut for the Venezuela u20 team over a year ago now, in May 2017. He travelled with the squad to the u20 World Cup later that summer, but only made a couple of very brief substitute appearances as his country made it all the way to the final.

Arsenal have just signed a young defensive midfielder of their own, in the form of Matteo Guendouzi, so it’s not a huge issue that they’ve missed out on Makoun. Guendouzi has a lot more experience in Europe as well, and should integrate into the first-team more easily.