Tottenham Hotspur are eyeing a move for Barcelona’s teenage central defender Mikayil Faye with La Liga side Girona also interested, according to Spanish publication Sport.
Barcelona signed the Senegalese centre-back in the summer and Faye has been impressive for the Spanish side’s reserve team. Xavi Hernandez recently called him up to the first-team squad for a La Liga game although the player is yet to make his debut.
Faye has played 24 times for Barca Atletic this season, scoring three goals. A physically dominant defender who is equally adept with the ball at his feet, the 19-year-old has all the ingredients to become a top-draw centre-back in the future. It is only an added advantage that he is left-footed.
When Faye signed for Barcelona, he signed a four-year deal with a £341m release clause. The Spanish giants have this tendency to hand huge release clauses to top prospects to secure their futures to the club but it remains to be seen whether they would be open to negotiating a fee for the Senegalese centre-back.
Problem of plenty
Barcelona have a number of centre-backs at their disposal. The Spanish club have Ronald Araujo, Andreas Christensen, Jules Kounde, Inigo Martinez and Pau Cubarsi who can play in that position. Eric Garcia – who is out on loan at Girona – is also expected to return ahead of next season.
Considering all the names ahead of him, it is highly unlikely that Faye would get a regular run in the first team. Therefore, the report says Barcelona want to either loan him out, sell him with a buy-back clause or if they get a good fee, outright sell him in the upcoming summer. This is where Tottenham are interested.
Spurs have shown a significant change in strategy in the transfer market since the arrival of Ange Postecoglou. They have signed young, relatively unknown commodities with a high ceiling. The likes of Micky van de Ven and Guglielmo Vicario have been the pick of the bunch so far.
Signing someone like Mikayil Faye who could be the backup to Micky van de Ven could be the play going forward. The Dutch centre-back’s explosive playstyle makes him rather susceptible to injuries. Having a like-for-like replacement for him in the squad would be ideal. Let’s see if Spurs can find an agreement with Barcelona for the Senegalese defender.
