Manchester City will reportedly challenge FC Barcelona to sign Las Palmas youngster Alberto Moleiro, who is regarded by many as one of Spain’s next big talents.
According to Mundo Deportivo, the 19-year-old has caught the eye of the Premier League champions and the Catalan giants, with Moleiro drawing comparisons from Spanish superstar Pedri due to his style of play as well as his upbringing on Tenerife, with very few top players coming from the Canary Islands.
As per the report, Barcelona have made a £10m offer for Moleiro that could be accepted by La Palmas, though personal terms are yet to be agreed between the club and the player, giving City a chance to swoop in and hijack a potential deal for the teenage attacking midfielder.
Indeed, it is believed that Moleiro’s preference is to follow in Pedri’s footsteps and sign for Barcelona, but given the nature of the La Liga giants this transfer window, a deal is taking far too long to complete, with club negotiators doing their best to included clauses and add-ons to drive down the upfront cost.
Barcelona are close to signing Raphinha from Leeds United and still want Robert Lewandowski from Bayern Munich, with Ousmane Dembele also set to pen a new contract with the club, and when you couple all of that on top of the European side’s existing €1.3bn debt, you can see why a deal for Moleiro is taking its time.
And this could all play neatly into City’s hands, with Pep Guardiola eager to bring Moleiro to Manchester after an impressive year with Las Palmas last season, and with Barcelona once again stumbling over their feet, the Premier League champions could beat them to the talented Spaniard.
City should be looking to hijack Barcelona’s bid to sign Moleiro
Barcelona are slowly devolving back into the mess that saw Lionel Messi dramatically leave the club last summer, and this could play beautifully into City’s hands, who might use the opportunity to sign Moleiro right from under the Catalan side’s noses.
With the Manchester side having a strong track record of developing young players, Moleiro could be tempted to make the move to England to learn the ways of football under Guardiola, especially if Barcelona continue to stall on a deal to sign the talented teenager.
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