Leeds United are reportedly set to rival La Liga heavyweights Barcelona in the race to sign Standard Liege’s young midfielder Nicolas Raskin, who will be a free agent at the end of the season.
According to reports in Mundo Deportivo, Barcelona face competition from Premier League side Leeds United in the hunt for Standard Liege’s 21-year-old midfielder Nicolas Raskin, who has reportedly refused to put pen to paper on a new deal at his current club.
The 21-year-old promising midfielder first burst onto the scene as a wonderkid in 2020, starting 26 games for Standard Liege as they finished eighth in the Belgian Pro League. Since then, the Belgium Under-21 midfielder has been ever-present in the first team, up until this season.
He has clocked up almost 100 appearances for his boyhood club, chipping in with five goals and 13 assists in the process. However, Raskin has recently been banished from training with the first team and demoted to the club’s reserve side after talks over a new deal broke down.
His current contract with Liege is due to expire at the end of the current season, and he is not expected to feature again for the Belgian outfit after confirming that he has no intentions of signing a new contract. The player is looking to run down his existing terms before leaving the club on a free transfer.
His contract rebel situation appears to have alerted debt-ridden La Liga giants Barcelona, who are almost exclusively pursuing players that are soon to be out of contract.
Raskin is renowned for his range of passing, positioning, tackling, and one-on-one defensive prowess. The 21-year-old, who is currently a member of Belgium’s under-21 side, is expected to make the step up to the senior team shortly.
His attributes suggest that he would arrive as a potential long-term option to replace Sergio Busquets, for whom Barcelona is actively looking for a successor. However, the latest talent on the Catalans’ radar has been attracting significant attention of late.
Belgian outlet Voetbal Nieuws reports the youngster prefers a move to England, and Leeds are the only club from England linked. There aren’t many teams that are better for a young player to join than the Whites in the Premier League at the moment, with Jesse Marsch more than willing to put his faith in young players and give them a chance to shine.
With Adam Forshaw and Mateusz Klich likely to be shown the exit door in the near future, signing Raskin makes a lot of sense.
Players are tempted by the lure of the Premier League, so this could play a big factor in Leeds’s favour. However, Barcelona has that pulling power and would provide him with Champions League football next season as well as the opportunity to compete for trophies.
Aside from the aforementioned clubs, Marseille, Lille, Galatasaray, Fiorentina, Club Brugge, and Genoa are all also keen on his services. The Belgian playmaker could be available for a cut-price move next month if Standard Liege looks to cash in on him to avoid losing him for free down the line. It will be interesting to see which club capitalizes on his contract situation.