Tottenham have emerged as shock favourites to land Barcelona wonderkid Carles Alena and could get the player for as little as €3 million.
Spanish publication AS are claiming that Tottenham have emerged as a shock favourite in the race to sign Barcelona wonderkid Carles Alena in the summer. The highly-rated midfielder is likely to exit the club in the current transfer window and Spurs have jumped to the head of the queue in the pursuit of the Spaniard.
Carles Alena is one of the recent shining examples to emerge from the fabled La Masia academy at Barcelona. The player is hailed by many as the next academy graduate to establish a foothold in the first-team setup at Nou Camp, having already made his senior debut for the club.
Alena’s deal is set to expire in a year’s time and Barcelona have been intent for a while to get the 19-year-old to commit to the club. New manager Ernesto Valverde is hoping for the same. But, Alena wants first-team football and concrete promises of the same at Barcelona before signing the extension.
AS:
Mauricio Pochettino is keen to bring Barcelona’s Carles Aleñá to the Premier League. Buyout: 3m euros set to rise to 10.5m on July 1 pic.twitter.com/1YD7gXJ0GE— M·A·J (@UltraAutistic) June 26, 2017
Also, according to the terms of the contract, Alena is now available for as little as €3 million – a figure which will rise to €12 million once he enters the final year of his Barcelona contract. There have been rumours linking the player to Arsenal, Newcastle, Manchester United and even Real Madrid over the course of last season.
However, it seems Tottenham are the freshest club to tail the player and Spurs have even become the best bet to land the player. Mauricio Pochettino is in dire need of addition of depth in his side to mount a better challenge in domestic and European competitions.
The manager’s track record with youngsters is something that may lure Alena to the club, who will be a welcome addition to what is already an impressive young and talented core for Spurs. Pochettino will likely make sure Alena is given ample opportunities in the first-team to cement his place, albeit slowly.
Barcelona, though, will be rocked by the news of Alena’s potential departure, with many seeing the player as the future midfield superstar of the club, in the same mould as Xavi or Iniesta.
The Catalans have already bid adieu to Jordi Mboula, who has signed for AS Monaco, while Eric Garcia, one of the most gifted talents of the academy is set to leave for Manchester City too, according to reports.
It will be interesting to see if Tottenham manage to come in quickly and snap the player up for cheap. For, Alena might just be the next phenomenon to grace the Premier League.
