Transfer News: Manchester City enter race to sign Gavi

Manchester City are reportedly the latest club to enter the race to sign Barcelona prodigy Gavi, who is also on the radars of Liverpool and Chelsea.

According to a report from El Nacional, Manchester City have shown an interest in securing the services of Barcelona midfield prodigy Gavi, who is also a transfer target for Chelsea and Liverpool.

Gavi came through the youth ranks at Barcelona and made his first-team breakthrough in the ongoing campaign and has become a mainstay in the side, despite being just 17 years of age. Indeed, the teenage sensation has been the Blaugrana’s best player this term, making a huge impression in his debut season with the senior team. 

Gavi has featured 22 times in all competitions for the Catalan heavyweights, scoring one goal and setting up three more. Primarily a central midfielder, the youngster has shown that he can also do the job out on the flanks. The youngster also broke into the Spanish national team in October last year and has featured four times.

Gavi’s immense quality and potential at such a young age and the maturity he has shown has now attracted the interest of some of the biggest clubs in Europe. Indeed, Chelsea and Liverpool are among the teams interested, with Manchester City also now joining the race for the 17-year-old. 

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Chelsea will need to revamp their midfield next summer as N’Golo Kante is not getting any younger and has struggled with injuries this term. Jorginho is set to enter the final year of his contract and continues to be linked with a return to Italy. With Ross Barkley’s time up, Ruben Loftus-Cheek failing to impress consistently and Saul Niguez unlikely to be signed permanently, a new midfielder would make sense for Thomas Tuchel.

It has led them to Gavi, along with several other midfielders. However, the Blues will have to battle Liverpool in the race to land the exciting prospect. The Reds are in the market for reinforcements in midfield as they failed to replace Georginio Wijnaldum last summer while James Milner, Jordan Henderson and Thiago Alcantara are not getting any younger, with the latter also struggling with injury problems.

As a result, Liverpool are interested in bolstering their midfield, with Gavi emerging as a viable target for Jurgen Klopp. The Reds are believed to be willing to meet the youngster’s €50 million release clause to snare him away from Barcelona, but Manchester City’s entry into the picture might complicate matters.

The Cityzens will need to refresh their options in midfield in the next couple of years, with both Kevin De Bruyne and Ilkay Gundogan in their thirties. With Phil Foden finding a home in the final third of the pitch, a new midfielder to add cover and take over from De Bruyne in the near future makes sense, with Gavi emerging as an option worth considering.

Apart from the three clubs, PSG are also interested in the 17-year-old and are preparing a bumper contract offer to sign him. Gavi’s current contract with Barcelona expires next year and comes with a €50 million exit clause. The Catalans are in talks to extend the youngster’s deal as soon as possible as they look to secure his long-term future and raise his release clause amount to stave off suitors.