Barcelona are reportedly keeping tabs on 17-year-old Italian whizkid Cher Ndour, who is impressing for the youth teams of SL Benfica.
According to SPORT, Barcelona are continuing to scour the transfer market for gifted youngsters with potential and have set their sights on SL Benfica’s teenage prodigy Cher Ndour.
The 17-year-old prospect started in Italy, where he spent time at the academies of Brescia and Atalanta before moving to Portugal in the summer of 2020. The switch has worked out brilliantly for Ndour as he has made rapid strides at Benfica, showing tremendous growth with the club’s Under-23 and B teams.
Ndour, so far, has featured 22 times for Benfica Under-23, scoring one goal. He also has one goal in 25 matches for the B team. The 17-year-old was part of the youth team that won the UEFA Youth League, beating Red Bull Salzburg this past weekend. The 17-year-old was among the goalscorers as Benfica dispatched the Austrian giants 6-0.
Ndour’s progress in the youth ranks at Benfica has not gone unnoticed, with several clubs across Europe casting admiring glances towards him. And Barcelona are one among the clubs interested in the 17-year-old prodigy, who has represented the Italian national team at the Under-15, Under-16 and the Under-18 level.
Barcelona have reaped a lot of rewards by placing their faith in the youth of late. Ansu Fati, Pedri, Ronald Araujo, Gavi and Nico Gonzalez have become regulars in the first-team setup at Camp Nou and are considered the core of the team for the future. So, it is understandable why the Blaugrana wish to continue adding young starlets to their ranks.
Emre Demir will be joining the Catalans’ B team setup in the summer. Barcelona have also completed the signing of Racing Santander prodigy Pablo Torre, beating arch-rivals Real Madrid in the race to land the Spanish prodigy.
The Blaugrana have their sights on several other such prospects, with former La Masia trainee Xavi Simons also on the club’s radars. Now Ndour has also emerged as a target for Barcelona. The 17-year-old has a contract with Benfica that runs until the summer of 2023. It remains to be seen if Barça make a move for the teenage prodigy in the summer.
