Barcelona are reportedly showing interest in Juventus’ teen star Pol Mikel Lirola, who has impressed while on loan at Sassuolo.
Spanish publication Mundo Deportivo have claimed that Barcelona are now showing interest in Juventus teenager Pol Mikel Lirola. The 19-year-old, who is currently on a two-year loan at Sassuolo, has really come of age and impressed in his outings in the Serie A.
Pol Mikel Lirola is a Catalan local and an Espanyol academy graduate, who moved to Juventus in January 2015 in a loan move, which was converted into a permanent transfer by the Serie A champions at the end of the 2014-15 season for a modest fee of €500,000, with the player signing a five year contract at the club.
The player, then, was loaned out to Sassuolo before the start of the current season on a two-year deal for some first-team experience to aid his development. The 19-year-old has really developed into a superstar under the guidance of Eusebio Di Francesco. Lirola has featured in 8 of the side’s 12 Serie A games, starting 7 of the 8.
And as per the reports, the player is now on the radar of Spanish giants Barcelona. The Catalan giants are in search of a right-back to replace the rumoured out-bound Aleix Vidal and the youngster could serve as a long-term member of the squad.
Barcelona have been linked with a host of right-backs with the likes of Stephen Lichtsteiner and Joao Cancelo among others. Amidst all the search for an able replacement, Lirola would present an opportunity to add a player of Catalan origin while also securing a transfer of one of the highly rated young defenders in the footballing world.
Lirola’s ability to play both as a right-back and a right midfielder make Barcelona’s interest seems justified. Juventus, though, would be foolish to let go of such a prospect and are reportedly confident of making the player a key part of their first-team setup after his return from the two-year loan spell in 2018.
The report also says that Barcelona and Manchester City were also closely linked with Lirola before his move to Juventus.
It would be interesting to see how Lirola responds to interest from Barcelona as he may consider the opportunity of joining the club that one of the biggest clubs, if not the biggest, in the footballing world.
