The strange case of Arsenal, Campbell and his agent?!?
THere are always a few bizarre pieces of Arsenal transfer news during the transfer windows, and this summer is no different. The latest to hit the press involves young Joel Campbell, the Costa Rica international who was so impressive during his country’s World Cup run that a number of clubs are hoping that Arsene Wenger decides not to use him as a Gunner again this season.
A few days ago, there were reports in the media that his agent had revealed that a number of clubs in Italy’s Serie A were chasing Campbell and were willing to pay around $15 million for him. This story, on top of The Express report which revealed that Premier League clubs like Everton and Newcastle were keen on taking him on loan. I for one wondered what the hell Wenger was doing, when we are not exactly overloaded with goals ourselves.
However, an ESPN report reveals that all was not as it seemed, as the `agent` who spoke about Italy was nothing of the sort. Campbell’s real agent is not amused and has rubbished the claims of Ruggero Lacerenza. He also spoke warmly of his client’s desire to play for Arsenal in the coming season, not any other club.
The Arsenal youngsters agent, Joaquim Batica, said, “Joel has never met this man and doesn’t have a clue who he is. He does not represent his interests. I do. In fact, while here in Brazil, not once has Joel thought about going anywhere. He’s been purely focused on helping Costa Rica at this tournament.
“The last thing on his mind at the moment is leaving Arsenal. He’s living his dream of playing at a World Cup in Brazil and cannot wait to take on the Dutch [in Saturday’s quarter-final].
“There are lots of people who have been in contact with me trying to engineer moves to different clubs, but none of them have authorisation from Joel or his family.
“So everybody should be wary of anyone claiming to be representing him. This man is misleading people, he has nothing to do with us.
“These third-party people really do muddy the waters as far as we’re concerned. Arsenal know who they are dealing with but other clubs don’t.”
So there you go, Arsenal fans, unless of course this turns out be nothing to do with Campbell either.
