Arsenal and Manchester United face an uphill battle to lure Pau Cubarsi away from the Nou Camp as the youngster is set to sign a new deal with Barcelona, according to Spanish publication Sport.
Pau Cubarsi is the talk of the town. He has taken the footballing world by storm with his performances for Barcelona in recent weeks. His display against Napoli striker Victor Osimhen in the Champions League Round of 16 tie left watchers highly impressed. On his Champions League debut, he was deservedly named the Man of the Match.
The 17-year-old centre-back is the next big thing coming out of La Masia. The Barcelona academy has spurned generational talents in regular frequency over the last few seasons but Cubarsi and Lamine Yamal are considered to be the crème de la crème of the crop. A few weeks ago, no one had heard about the Spanish defender. Now, he has made himself undroppable from Xavi Hernandez’s team.
The interesting thing about Cubarsi’s current deal at Barcelona is that his contract currently has a £8.5m (€10m) release clause. If the initial signs are anything to go by, that fee represents an absolute bargain and unsurprisingly, many Premier League clubs are interested in signing him.
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Sport says Arsenal and Manchester United are showing a keen interest in luring the Spanish youngster to England, while Chelsea and Manchester City are also named as potential suitors.
However, they face a difficult task trying to sign Cubarsi as the report says the exciting defender is expected to sign a new contract with Barcelona that would see his release clause increase substantially.
Players who come from La Masia tend to have a huge attachment to Barcelona, and Cubarsi seems to be no different. The Spaniard only wants to stay at the club and wants to sign a contract renewal with the Spanish giants. The Catalan giants want to include a €1bn release clause in his new deal.
As things stand, there seems to be no chance for United or Arsenal to land the player. That said, football is a funny game and if the legendary Lionel Messi could leave Barcelona, then anyone could.
There is no doubt that all these aforementioned clubs would be keeping a keen eye on Cubarsi’s future and see how he progresses. Stylistically, he seems to be a regen of Barcelona legend Gerard Pique. At 17, he is already exceptional defensively and is very comfortable playing out of the back.
Barcelona seem to have unearthed another gem from their academy but much like the other ones, they seem sure about keeping hold of him. There is not much any of the Premier League clubs can do. Let’s wait and see how the Spanish teenager progresses in his career.
