Barcelona and Manchester City are reportedly leading the race to sign highly-rated Portuguese teenager Sana Fernandes from Sporting CP.
According to Portuguese publication O Jogo, as relayed by Sport Witness, Barcelona and Manchester City have emerged as the front-runners to capture the services of 16-year-old prodigy Sana Fernandes from Sporting CP.
Sana Fernandes is a 16-year-old forward who has been with the Sporting CP academy for a while now. The teenage prodigy, born in Guinea, has won the Portuguese Under-14 Championship with the club and is currently part of their Under-16 setup, for whom he scored ten goals in 21 matches during the 2021/22 campaign.
Able to play on the right or the left flank, Sana Fernandes is seen as an exciting young talent brimming with potential. However, his time at Sporting CP is now drawing towards a close as his contract is about to expire, and the Portuguese giants have been unsuccessful in convincing the youngster to continue at the club.
Sana Fernandes, as per the report, is fielding offers from several top clubs from across Europe. However, it is Barcelona and Manchester City who have emerged as the likeliest destinations for the 16-year-old Guinean-Portuguese forward ahead of the summer transfer window.
??l FC Barcelona, Man City and Napoli are interested in Sana Fernandes, the 16-years-old winger is out of contract with Sporting this summer. @FR_SportingCP ? pic.twitter.com/eJpFEC8yaU
— Barça Xtra (@XtraBarcaa) June 3, 2022
Barcelona have tasted a lot of success by placing their faith in youngsters in recent seasons and have continued to recruit aggressively to strengthen their youth ranks. The Blaugrana already have deals in place to sign Pablo Torre and Emre Demir, who will be arriving at the club imminently, while they are also set to welcome Nil Ruiz from CF Damm.
More recruitment on the youth front is expected, and Sana Fernandes could end up being one of the arrivals at Barcelona’s La Masia academy in the coming weeks.
However, Barcelona will face competition from Premier League champions Manchester City. The Mancunian heavyweights have one of the finest youth training facilities in Europe and have been producing exciting talents like Phil Foden and Cole Palmer, among others in recent seasons. They are hoping to make their youth system more robust by adding youngsters with potential like Sana Fernandes.
With no fee likely to be involved in the 16-year-old’s signing, it can be seen as a coup, provided Sana Fernandes goes on to fulfil his vast potential. It will be interesting to see who among Barcelona and Manchester City come out on top in the race for the Sporting CP starlet.
