Colombian soccer star Cristian Zapata’s agent has distanced his client from reports of an imminent move to the English Premier League, stating that Italian club Udinese is the “ideal environment” at this time, Sky Sports News reported Monday.
Earlier reports had indicated that the 24 year old central defender was set to complete a move to English giants Liverpool, suggesting the club had beaten off competition from Arsenal and Bayern Munich for his coveted signature.
His agent, Massimo Italiani, rejected the reports and suggested that perhaps Zapata’s comments had been misinterpreted because “The statements coming from South America travel too many miles and sometimes they have different meanings from the original ones.”
“There is no news regarding his future. Of course, his dream is to play in the Premier League one day, but to leave a club like Udinese you need a request from a big club,” Italiani said.
“Cristian will now be involved in the Copa America and we hope he will be a key figure after having a fantastic season with his club. Udinese is the ideal environment for him to grow without much pressure,” he added.
Zapata was an integral part of provincial Italian side Udinese’s impressive campaign, in which they surprised pundits by claiming fourth place in the league, providing them with the opportunity to perform on Europe’s most lucrative stage, the Champions’ League, next season.