Barcelona are reportedly closing in on the signing of teenage prodigy Kays Ruiz-Atil on a free transfer with his contract at Paris Saint-Germain expiring.
According to Sky Sport Italia journalist Matteo Moretto, Barcelona are poised to complete the transfer of former academy Kays Ruiz-Atil on a free transfer as his contract with Paris Saint-Germain runs down.
Ruiz-Atil spent six years at Barcelona’s famed La Masia academy between 2009 and 2015 after having joined the club from the Olympique Lyon youth setup. Following the Catalans’ transfer ban due to the illegal signings of underage players, the versatile midfielder switched teams to PSG, where he went on to make rapid strides.
Ruiz-Atil went on to make his senior debut for the French capital club in September last year in a 1-0 defeat to RC Lens in Ligue 1 under then-manager Thomas Tuchel. The teenager went on to feature six more times for Les Parisiens in the French top-tier but did not play a single game for the senior team since December due to his contract standoff.
Despite multiple attempts, PSG weren’t able to reach a contract agreement with the promising midfielder, with Ruiz-Atil confirming his exit from the club in a social media post last month. With his contract officially expiring at the end of this month, the 18-year-old will now be able to complete a transfer on a Bosman move, and it seems like he is headed back to Barcelona.
The Blaugrana have been focusing quite heavily on bolstering their youth ranks and the B team under Joan Laporta, which is understandable considering the impact that youngsters like Ansu Fati, Pedri, Oscar Mingueza, Ronald Araujo and Ilaix Moriba have made at the first-team level in the recent past.
To that end, Barcelona have been linked with many young prospects this summer, including Enrique Herrero of Villarreal while there has also been interest in teenage Polish international Kacper Kozlowski. With Ruiz-Atil also having been firmly on their radar ever since his contract talks broke down, the 18-year-old is closer than ever to sealing a return to Barcelona.
As Moretto claims, negotiations between the two parties are well on track, with a transfer very much on the cards. If completed, Ruiz-Atil will become Barcelona’s fourth Bosman signing of the summer, following Sergio Aguero, Eric Garcia and Memphis Depay. Whether he is made the part of the senior setup or joins the B team remains to be seen.
