Barcelona are reportedly in negotiations to secure the signing of 20-year-old Spanish midfielder Antonio Aranda from fellow La Liga side Granada.
According to ESPN journalist Moises Llorens on Twitter, Barcelona could be poised to complete the transfer of Granada midfielder Antonio Aranda, who is out of contract with the La Liga club at the end of the ongoing season.
Aranda is the product of the Granada youth academy. An attacking midfielder by trade, the 20-year-old can also play out on the flanks and has been a regular for the Spanish outfit’s reserve team, for whom he has racked up 40 appearances, in which he has scored six goals.
Aranda made his first-team debut for Granada in January last year in a Copa del Rey clash against UD Tamaraceite. The midfielder has added one more senior appearance to that, after featuring in another cup game against AD San Juan in the ongoing campaign, back in December 2020. He even managed to assist a goal as Granada emerged 2-0 winners.
Aranda, though, is in the final few weeks of his contract with Granada, with Llorens confirming that the versatile attacking midfielder’s current deal runs out at the end of June. And, it seems like Barcelona are ready to pounce, having begun talks to secure the transfer of the youngster.
With the Catalans in a bit of a financial lurch, the club has been focusing on strengthening their youth ranks heading into the summer, while also looking for marquee additions at the first-team level. Barcelona, most recently, had been linked with a move for Sevilla goalkeeper Alfonso Pastor, who is also set to become a free agent at the end of the season, and is also a target for Real Madrid.
Barcelona have also shown an interest in other talented young players such as Ivan San Jose of Real Valladolid, while 17-year-old defender Ismael Doukoure, who plays for French Ligue 2 outfit Valenciennes is also on the club’s radar. Continuing in a similar trend, the Blaugrana have seemingly shown an interest in securing the transfer of Aranda, who will be available on a free transfer at the end of the season.
Barcelona can take confidence from the fact that youngsters have been doing quite well for the first-team this season with the likes of Pedri, Oscar Mingueza, Ilaix Moriba and Ansu Fati, prior to his injury, making a solid impression. And, with talks now started for Aranda’s signing, he could be next in line to make the switch to Camp Nou, although it seems more likely that he will be sent to the B team before getting a shot in the senior side.
