Chelsea, Newcastle to battle Man City, Brighton for one of the most in-demand youngsters in the world
In-demand Boca Juniors left-back Valentin Barco
Chelsea, Newcastle and several other Premier League clubs have reportedly joined Manchester City and Brighton in the race for Boca Juniors left-back Valentin Barco.
The 19-year-old is considered to be one of the best young players in South America and has caught the attention of a host of clubs across Europe.
Barco has already made 22 senior appearances for Boca Juniors, scoring one goal and making two assists in the process.
As previously reported by TEAMtalk, Guardiola is very keen to sign Barco when the transfer window re-opens and Man City were thought to be leading the race for his signature.
The Spanish manager isn’t convinced by Sergio Gomez, who is Man City’s only natural left-back at the moment. Nathan Ake has had to play in that position recently but his best spot is as a centre-back.
Man City could see their plans to sign Barco scuppered, however. Chelsea and Newcastle and others are providing stiff competition, while Brighton’s interest has not gone away.
With that in mind, we could potentially see a bidding war take place for Barco in January.
EURO PAPER TALK: Chelsea prepare bid for Bundesliga striker after missing out on top target; Arsenal star set to stay after Arteta snub
Brighton ‘leading the chase’ for Barco
According to 90min, Brighton are the team ‘leading the chase’ for Barco, but face competition from plenty of European clubs.
The report claims that Chelsea, Manchester City, Newcastle, Brentford, Wolves and Nottingham Forest have all ‘watched him’ in recent weeks.
As well as the Premier League suitors, it has been revealed that Celtic, Bayer Leverkusen, Borussia Dortmund, Benfica, Porto, Roma, Juventus, PSG and Monaco have also ‘checked on Barco.’
Barco can definitely be considered to be one of the most in-demand players in the world at the moment.
There is currently a £8m release clause in the Argentinian’s contract but it’s been claimed that Boca Juniors are set to agree on a renewal with the talented youngster that will include an increased £16m release clause.
It’s likely that all of the aforementioned teams would be willing to spend £16m on Barco. If that proves to be the case, it will be up to the player to choose his next destination.
90min claim that Boca Juniors are ‘hopeful’ that they can keep hold of the defender if he does sign a new contract, though. With that level of interest, however, that seems unlikely.
With Barco’s future very much up in the air at the moment, it will be interesting to see where he ends up in the future.