Arsenal and Chelsea scout red-hot talent also wanted by Aston Villa, Everton and Nottingham Forest

Santiago Castro has been in excellent form for Bologna of late, with Arsenal and Chelsea the latest two Premier League clubs tracking his progress

Arsenal and Chelsea have been scouting talented Bologna forward Santiago Castro. The 20-year-old, who joined the Serie A side from Velez Sarsfield back in January, has scored three goals in nine appearances this season.

Born in San Martin, Buenos Aires, the Argentina Under 23s international came through the youth set-up at Velez and made his first-team debut in August 2021. He continued to develop at the Liga Profesional outfit and earned himself a move to Bologna earlier this year after netting nine times in 64 senior matches.

After struggling for game time during the second half of last season, Castro scored once and added an assist against Juventus in May and has since cemented himself as a regular Bologna starter. Before last Sunday's 0-0 draw with Parma, Castro had scored in his three previous Serie A games.

With Castro only turning 20 last month and boasting a serious amount of potential, a number of Premier League clubs are looking at him ahead of a potential move. According to CaughtOffside, Arsenal, Chelsea, Aston Villa, Everton and Nottingham Forest have been monitoring his progress in Italy.

Arsenal and Chelsea, in particular, would surely be tempting destinations for Castro in the future, while the rise of Aston Villa makes them a prized landing place at the moment. It does remain to be seen whether the London duo step up their interest, while it's also unclear whether Castro sees his future in English football.

As seen in the likes of Gabriel Martinelli, Bukayo Saka and William Saliba, Arsenal have a recent history of developing and nurturing young players into regular first-team stars.

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While Chelsea have not been as successful as Arsenal in the last couple of years, Castro does fit their recruitment policy of signing youngsters with big futures. In recent years, the Blues have signed a longlist of South American talents, with Estevao Willian and Kendry Paez set to join in 2025.

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