Report: Arsenal and Liverpool want to sign young Portugal goalkeeper Ricardo van der Laan

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Arsenal and Liverpool are both said to be keen on signing young Portuguese goalkeeper, Ricardo van der Laan, according to a report from the Daily Mail.

The 17-year-old is a relative unknown to most in England but has caught the eye of the Gunners and the Reds after making four appearances for the Belenenses under-23 team.

Van der Laan, who plays for the Portugal under-18 team as well, is said to be highly thought of in his homeland.

And with money set to be tighter than previous years this summer, both Liverpool and Arsenal are seemingly looking to make a play at adding young and emerging talent to their squads.

Liverpool has Alisson Becker as number one, while the Gunners have Emiliano Martinez and Bernd Leno as first-choice stoppers.

However, both Mikel Arteta and Jurgen Klopp know the importance of planning for the future. This, then, could well explain their interest in Van der Laan.

An unknown quantity but one who must have something about him – TBR View

We won’t pretend to know plenty about Van der Laan as the fact is we don’t. However, to be playing for the under-23s at just 17 is quite an achievement, as is attracting interest from top PL clubs.

Both teams will want to ensure they have the best young players on their books for the coming years. Arsenal has seen an emergence of talent in the last 12 months, while Liverpool has also blooded some good youngsters in Neco Williams and Curtis Jones.

Van der Laan, then, will probably be itching to land a move to the English game if an offer is on the table. His contract expires in 2021, according to Transfermarkt.