Premier League rivals Everton and Liverpool were only linked with River Plate’s Colombian star Juan Quintero earlier this month.

Colombia star Juan Quintero has suffered a brutal cruciate ligament injury just a week or so after being linked with a big-money move to the Premier League.
Don Balon reported earlier in March that Merseyside rivals Liverpool and Everton have both shown an interest in offering Quintero a chance to move to England for the first time in his nomadic career.
A gifted and rather enigmatic playmaker who is currently in Argentina with River Plate, the report claimed that Liverpool or Everton were willing to trigger the £26 million release clause in his contract.
But Quintero won’t be moving to Anfield or Goodison Park any time soon after a suffering a cruel and particularly ill-timed blow. As reported by Xinhuanet, the 26-year-old former Porto playmaker is now out of action with a cruciate ligament injury – a problem which will keep him out of action for a minimum of six months, although in some cases players have been left on the sidelines for nine.

Quintero can forget about getting his big break on Merseyside – he might not play again in 2019.
A Juan Roman Riquelme-style throwback of a midfielder, Quintero enjoyed the best year of his career in 2018, outshining James Rodriguez at the World Cup before inspiring River to a historic Copa Libertadores victory against arch rivals Boca Juniors with a stunning long-range goal.

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