Barcelona are set to add another prodigious talent to their youth setup, with the club reportedly set to sign Real Mallorca star Chadi Riad.
According to Spanish publication Sport, Barcelona are set to snap up Chadi Riad from Real Mallorca. The Moroccan youngster is reportedly set to join the current La Liga leaders, where he will slot straight into the club’s Juvenil B team coached by Franc Artiga.
The report states that Barcelona were battling with Villarreal for Riad’s signature since a month, before finally getting their way. Barcelona have reached an agreement with the player, who will be a great loss for Real Mallorca.
Chadi Riad hails from Morocco and is a left-footed defender. The youngster is known for his ability on the ball and his set-piece prowess. The 15-year-old recently impressed while representing Morocco at the Under-15 level, with the nation winning the Youth African games.
Riad will hope to hit the ground running when he joins the Juvenil B team and to follow in the footsteps of other youngsters who have managed to blaze through the lower age group teams before catching the eye as part of Barcelona B, which is likely to be his first goal when he joins in the summer.
Barcelona to sign Moroccan starlet Chadi Riad from Mallorca https://t.co/QZ987Jcc4z
— SPORT English (@Sport_EN) February 10, 2019
As mentioned above, Real Mallorca will be ruing the loss of a prodigious talent. The Spanish outfit is not particularly happy with Barcelona as to the way they have gone about the signing as per the report, with the Catalans opting to talk to the player and his camp directly.
This will be a welcome move for Barcelona, who have recently become notoriously known for losing great prospects, with the youngsters opting to move elsewhere in search of a more definite path into the first-team as they develop. A few questions might be raised on Barcelona on the topic.
While we are seeing talents like Sergio Reguilon are keeping the likes of Marcelo out of the starting eleven at Real Madrid, Barcelona have chosen to recruit from outside instead of giving the youngsters a chance. The Catalans brought in Clement Lenglet in the summer while opting for a six-month loan for Jeison Murillo to handle the injury crisis instead of promoting from within.
In midfield as well, Frenkie de Jong is set to arrive in the summer and unless there are mass departures in the midfield, Barcelona fans are unlikely to see Carles Alena stake a claim to be a regular in the coming season.
Even in attack, the Catalans seem to have agreed personal terms with Luka Jovic instead of looking to promote from within their academy and B squad.
Chadi Riad’s addition is welcome, but Barcelona must revisit their transfer and youth policy, which seems to have changed over the recent years.
