Barcelona are reportedly keeping tabs on the progress of Russian international Arsen Zakharyan, who is valued at €15 million by Dynamo Moscow.
According to a report by Russian outlet Championat, Barcelona are interested in Arsen Zakharyan and have been closely monitoring his progress for quite some time now. The 18-year-old Russian prodigy is currently valued at €12 million by Dynamo Moscow, although his release clause will be bumped up to €15 million next year.
Arsen Zakharyan is a midfielder of Armenian descent, although he has chosen to represent Russia in international football. A part of three different clubs during his youth footballing days, the 18-year-old graduated from the Dynamo Moscow academy last year and has made swift progress since breaking into the first-team setup at the Dinamo Lev Yashin Stadium.
To date, Zakharyan has made 20 appearances for the Russian giants while chipping in with four goals and eight assists along the way. His progress has also helped the teenage prodigy to make his bow for Russia, becoming the youngest outfield player in the national team’s history this year. And his progress has not gone unnoticed, with Barcelona interested in signing him.
Barcelona oddly chose not to bolster their midfield unit despite selling Ilaix Moriba to RB Leipzig and loaning out Miralem Pjanic to Besiktas. The departure of the aforementioned duo seems to have left the Blaugrana somewhat light on options in the middle of the park, despite the fact that Sergi Roberto will be extensively used in the midfield unit.
So, just like last season, the first-choice trio of Sergio Busquets, Frenkie de Jong and Pedri are set to shoulder the bulk of the responsibility in midfield, creating an ominous situation for Ronald Koeman. As a result, it is imperative that Barcelona sign a central midfielder, with the Catalan club being linked with Lorenzo Pellegrini, Franck Kessie and Marcelo Brozovic, among others lately.
Arsen Zakharyan, to that end, is a viable target as well for Barcelona, seeing as at 18, he can be moulded into a player who fits in the scheme of things at Camp Nou. And the Russian international is not going to cost a bomb either, with his release clause being valued at €15 million for next year.
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While Barcelona are in a fair share of financial trouble, spending €15 million on a prodigious midfielder might not be out of question. Nevertheless, it remains to be seen if Barcelona continue to track the progress of Zakharyan as the season wears on, and if he impresses the club enough for them to make a move next summer.