Arsenal and Manchester United are reportedly set to battle over Villarreal’s Samuel Castillejo.

  • Castillejo has scored 2 La Liga goals this season
  • The 22-year-old has been capped 4 times for Spain
  • Castillejo is under contract with Villarreal until 2020
  • He signed for Villarreal from Malaga in 2015

The La Liga club allegedly want £35m for the Spanish winger, who’s made a total of 37 appearances over all competitions this season, scoring three and assisting five.

Manchester City and Napoli are also reported to be interested with the Serie A club apparently looking to bolster their attack.

£35m is a lot of money for a relatively young player who’s only been capped four times for Spain and has only scored three goals over 37 games this season.

What’s more is that the story appears to have originated from Il Mattino – an Italian outlet –  despite Castillejo playing in Spain. Napoli – an Italian team – are apparently his most likely destination.

Castillejo’s agent could just be using Arsenal to get a better deal for his client, as many have in the past. For example, over the summer, Mauro Icardi was heavily linked with a move to north London shortly before signing a new bumper deal with Inter.

This makes it seem a little likely a planted story, although of course I could be wrong.