Kays Ruiz-Atil is reportedly closing in on a return to Barcelona having bid goodbye to Paris Saint-Germain where his contract is close to expiration.
According to a report from Spanish publication Mundo Deportivo, La Liga heavyweights Barcelona are inching closer to completing the signing of former academy prospect Kays Ruiz-Atil, whose contract with Paris Saint-Germain is set to expire.
Ruiz-Atil moved to Barcelona’s famed La Masia youth setup after having spent time with the academies of FC Gerland and Olympique Lyon. The midfielder was on the Catalan giants’ books till the summer of 2015 when he returned to France, signing up with PSG’s youth academy. Since then, the 18-year-old has made rapid strides with the French giants.
Indeed, Ruiz-Atil went on to make his first-team debut for Les Parisiens in September last year in a 1-0 defeat to RC Lens in Ligue 1 under then manager Thomas Tuchel. The midfielder went on to feature six more times for PSG in the top-flight but has not played a game for the senior team since December and has not even been part of the matchday squads under new manager Mauricio Pochettino.
The fact that Ruiz-Atil’s contract with PSG was set to expire at the end of the season may have played a part in this as the club failed to reach an agreement over a new deal for the highly-rated teenage midfielder. And, now that the 2020/21 campaign is done and dusted, the 18-year-old has bid his goodbye to Paris Saint-Germain on his social media.
Set to become a free agent, it does not seem like Ruiz-Atil will have to wait for a long time to find himself a new club. Indeed, Chelsea, where Tuchel is the manager now, had been interested in the services of the teenage midfielder but as were Barcelona and the Catalans are seemingly set to capture the signing of their former academy ace on a free transfer, as per the report.
Barcelona, heading into the next season, have been focusing on strengthening their B team as much as they are looking to bolster the senior squad. This has seen them get linked with the likes of Ferran Jutgla and Sergio Carreira, among other prospective talents such as Ruiz-Atil himself. And, it seems as if they are set to land the signing of the latter imminently.
Ruiz-Atil, should the deal go through, is expected to link up with Barcelona’s B team initially but given his potential and promise, he could be soon knocking on the doors of the first-team, following in the footsteps of players like Ansu Fati and Ilaix Moriba.
