Barcelona and Real Madrid are reportedly set to fight it out for the signing of 12-year-old Celta Vigo prodigy Bryan Bugarin this summer.
According to a report from Spanish publication AS, La Liga rivals Barcelona, and Real Madrid could be poised for a transfer battle over Celta Vigo’s 12-year-old wonderkid Bryan Bugarin this summer.
Bugarin, who plays for the Galician outfit’s youth teams in the La Liga Promises, has managed to catch the eye of the two of the biggest clubs in the land with some stunning displays. The 12-year-old forward ended the Promises tournament as the MVP after bagging as many as nine goals, with his instincts in front of the goal and natural finishing ability attracting both Barcelona and Real Madrid.
Barcelona are in a phase where they need quite a restructure at the first-team level, as seen by the four signings they have already made this summer. At the same time, though, there seems to be renewed focus on bolstering the youth ranks under president Joan Laporta, who seems intent on reverting to the old ways of producing superstars from the La Masia.
To that end, Barcelona have been linked with many promising youth starlets this summer, with Kacper Kozlowski of Pogon Szczecin emerging as a target along with the likes of Ferran Jutgla and Sergio Carreira. Now, Bugarin, too, has popped up on the radars of the Catalan giants, but they are set to face competition from arch-rivals Real Madrid.
Much like Barcelona, Real Madrid, too, are in for a major overhaul at the senior team level as they embark on a new journey under Carlo Ancelotti, with ageing stars like Sergio Ramos and Marcelo set to make way for a newer generation. However, the Spanish capital outfit are also looking to add more talent to their youth ranks simultaneously in the time of financial uncertainty produced by the pandemic.
This has resulted in Real Madrid already bringing in promising youngsters like Ruben Montero and Jose Maria Arevalo, while there has been strong interest in Elche’s teenage prospect Javier Villar as well. And, Bugarin seems to be the latest among the young jewels in Spain that have piqued the interest of the Merengues.
An alternate report from Defensa Central goes on to add that Barcelona are currently leading Real Madrid in the race for Bugarin. However, Los Blancos are determined to beat their rivals for the 12-year-old’s transfer. It now remains to be seen who comes out on top in the race for the Spanish forward.
