Barcelona and Real Madrid are reportedly among the clubs keeping tabs on 19-year-old Dutch whizkid Ryan Gravenberch.
According to a report by Spanish outlet Fichajes, Ryan Gravenberch is one of several Ajax prodigies to have popped up on the radars of some of the biggest clubs in Europe. The Dutch international is being closely tracked by Barcelona and Real Madrid, with Bayern Munich also monitoring his progress.
Ryan Gravenberch joined the famed Ajax academy in 2010 before going on to make rapid progress in their youth setup. And at the age of just 16, the Dutch whizkid made his first-team debut for Ajax to become the youngest player to ever play in the Eredivisie for the club at 16 years and 130 days.
Since then, the 19-year-old has continued his constantly upward trajectory and is already a regular feature for the Dutch giants. To date, Gravenberch has made 69 appearances for Ajax, chipping in with 10 goals and eight assists along the way. His progress has duly been noticed by some of the biggest clubs in Europe, two of whom are Barcelona and Real Madrid.
Barcelona are likely to enter the transfer market for a central midfield reinforcement at the earliest opportunity after choosing not to sign even one midfielder despite offloading Ilaix Moriba and Miralem Pjanic in the summer transfer window. With the responsibility on Sergio Busquets, Pedri and Frenkie de Jong mounting even more, it is imperative that the Blaugrana bolster the midfield unit.
To that end, Barcelona have been linked with Boubacar Kamara, Paul Pogba and Dani Olmo among others, with Gravenberch now emerging as a viable target. Real Madrid, on the other hand, did sign a central midfielder in the summer in the form of Eduardo Camavinga, who has settled in almost instantly at the Santiago Bernabeu.
However, with Luka Modric ever closer to the end of his career and Toni Kroos well into his thirties, there is a feeling that Real Madrid could well do with another midfield reinforcement next summer despite the presence of Federico Valverde. As a result, they have been linked with Nicolo Barella, Bruno Fernandes and Paul Pogba, among others, with Gravenberch an option worth considering.
Apart from Barcelona and Real Madrid, Bayern Munich are also keeping a close watch on the 19-year-old Dutch whizkid. However, there is no indication as to whether any of the three clubs will make their move for Gravenberch anytime soon, with their interest only being from afar at the moment in all likelihood.
