Arsenal are reportedly one of the sides showing an interest in signing 18-year-old midfielder Baye Coulibaly, who could be available for a cut-price fee.
The Gunners - who sit third in the Premier League table - are understood to have been alerted to the teenager's performances for both club and country ever since his breakthrough into the senior game.
Coulibaly made the move to Croatian side NK Kustosija in February, and he scored on his debut for the club back in August, but it is his international displays that have caught the eye in particular.
Coulibaly excelled for Mali at last year's Under-17 World Cup, playing the full 90 minutes in all seven of their games as his nation reached the semi-finals, before beating Argentina in the third-placed playoff.
Standing at 6ft 1in tall, Coulibaly is most comfortable in the number six role, but the teenager demonstrated his versatility by filling in at centre-back throughout last year's Under-17 World Cup.
Arsenal among four clubs interested in Coulibaly?
© Imago
According to the Daily Mail, Arsenal have now entered the race to sign Coulibaly - who has since been promoted to the Mali Under-20 setup - but they must fend off three other clubs in their pursuit of the Mali midfielder.
Girona and Red Bull Salzburg - who are renowned for their development of young players - are both said to have made enquiries, but Spanish side Getafe have positioned themselves at the head of the queue by submitting an offer already.
However, the report adds that Getafe's proposal fell short of what NK Kustosija are after, but the Croatian side are only after a mere £5m to sell Coulibaly, who is under contract until 2027.
Coulibaly's current club NK Kustosija famously nurtured Senegalese defender Mikayil Faye, who was subsequently sold to Barcelona, although he failed to make the grade there and is now representing Rennes.
Faye is not the only highly-rated prospect to emerge from the NK Kustosija ranks, as 17-year-old striker Dino Klapija - reportedly once wanted by Manchester United - was on the books for a few months last season before joining RB Leipzig.
Arsenal to repeat Patrick Vieira trick with Coulibaly move?
© Imago
Gooners of a certain age will remember when Arsenal snapped up a talented young midfielder for pennies back in 1996; indeed, Patrick Vieira joined for just £3.5m a few weeks before Arsene Wenger officially took over as head coach.
Three Premier League titles later, Vieira had cemented his legacy as one of the greatest players to ever pull on the Arsenal shirt, dominating midfields alongside the unsung Gilberto Silva during the Invincibles era.
Signing an 18-year-old Coulibaly for just £5m could very well see Arsenal repeat their Vieira trick, although he would certainly have a lot to live up to if he was to follow in the Frenchman's footsteps.
In the more immediate future, Coulibaly could prove to be a long-term successor to Thomas Partey, who is in the last year of his Emirates contract and turns 32 next summer, although he has re-established himself as a key cog in Mikel Arteta's system this season.
However, the Ghana international will surely not be sticking around for the long-term, and if Arsenal do not want to pay over the odds for a Martin Zubimendi or Bruno Guimaraes, Coulibaly could be the answer.
Ben Knapton
