Premier League trio West Ham United, Tottenham Hotspur and Everton are keeping tabs on former Barcelona youngster Joan Gonzalez with the Spaniard thriving at Serie A outfit Lecce, according to Gazzetta dello Sport.
Regrets? It’s fair to say Barcelona have a few.
Letting young Gonzalez join Lecce on a free transfer in the summer of 2021 may not be the most high-profile transfer blunder the La Liga giants have made in recent seasons but, with hindsight, it’s proving to be a decision that has aged about as well as Jack Black’s Shallow Hal.
Gonzalez, a centre-half turned ball-playing midfielder, has gone from strength to strength in Italy.
So much so that Lecce already value the 21-year-old at around £12 million. With Everton, West Ham, Tottenham, Borussia Dortmund and Juventus all among his admirers, the Catalan-born playmaker could soon become the most expensive sale in Lecce’s history.
Tottenham, West Ham and Everton like former Barcelona youngster Joan Gonzalez
As you might expect from a footballer who honed his talents in Barcelona’s iconic La Masia academy, Gonzalez is brimming with poise and precision; a smoother mover than Fred Astaire on a Hollywood dancefloor.
Tall and rangy, Gonzalez is arguably at his best when snatching back possession before turning defence into attack; carrying the ball into the final third before picking out intelligent, well-weighted passes. His style of play will be eerily familiar to Spurs supporters who marvel at the sight of Rodrigo Bentancur strutting his stuff week-in, week-out.
According to Gazzetta, Barcelona already ‘regret’ letting Gonzalez go.
‘Will stay in Lecce’
“In January, our jewels, the players who are doing well and are showing off, will stay in Lecce,” president Saverio Sticchi Damiani tells Radio Kiss Kiss; a winter sale ruled out.
“This boy is producing an amazing season. Last year, he was in the Primavera (reserves). This year, he is a regular in Serie A. So he has moved from the Primavera to Serie A and made big impact.”
Gonzalez himself, meanwhile, is not looking to move on again any time soon; committing his future to a Lecce side who handed him his big break in the professional game.
“I am obviously very happy,” he said after signing a new deal until 2027. “Now, I can’t wait to repay the trust the club has in me.
“I didn’t expect to play so much. I want to continue doing well. The goal is, together with my teammates, to help the team reach safety (from relegation).”
Gonzalez is one of a number of midfielders reportedly on West Ham’s radar. The Hammers also like Marseille misfit Gerson and Eintracht Frankfurt’s Djibril Sow.
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