Joel Campbell Furious Over Arsenal Exit Reports

Arsenal striker Joel Campbell has been left furious after quotes emerged from an agent posing as the Costa Rica forward's representative linking him with a £16m move to Serie A.

Campbell has impressed during Costa Rica's run to the World Cup quarter-finals, where they lost on penalties to Netherlands, and could yet be included in the Gunners' first team squad for the new season despite spending the last three year on loan since moving to north London.

But the 18 year old has been unsettled by quotes from an agent called Ruggero Lacerenza, claiming that several big-name Italian clubs had made "enquiries" for the Arsenal man.

The forward's real agent Joaquim Batica says: "Joel has never met this man [Lacerenza] 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."

Despite being an Arsenal player for three years, Campbell has never made a first team appearance for the club, after failing to gain a work permit in his first two seasons – during which he played for FC Lorient and Real Betis.

Last summer, Campbell was granted a work-permit in England but he joined Olympiakos on a season-long loan, enjoying a successful season which saw him score against Manchester United in the Champions League.

Campbell has proved to be a livewire in attack for Costa Rica during the World Cup in Brazil, netting against Uruguay in the group stage to further enhance his reputation and leading Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger to hint the youngster could play a role next season.

"He will definitely come back to us for pre-season," said Wenger. "He is maturing well."