La Liga heavyweights Barcelona are reportedly tracking the progress of 20-year-old Ivorian centre-back Abakar Sylla at Club Brugge.
According to a report by Spanish outlet SPORT, Abakar Sylla is the subject of interest from Barcelona. The Catalan giants have been monitoring the progress of the 20-year-old centre-back. But the Club Brugge centre-back is also a target for several Premier League clubs ahead of the summer transfer window.
Abakar Sylla spent his formative years in his homeland before arriving in Europe nearly two years ago. The Ivory Coast international joined Club NXT in 2021 before moving to Club Brugge a year later. And he has gone from strength to strength since arriving at the Belgian champions last summer.
The 20-year-old has been a regular for Club Brugge, chipping in with a goal in 24 appearances thus far. Meanwhile, Sylla has also broken into his national team, turning out once for Ivory Coast. And the youngster’s progress has not gone unnoticed either, with Barcelona among his prospective suitors.
Barcelona will delve into the market for a centre-back in the summer transfer window. The Catalan giants particularly want a left-footed centre-back, as Xavi Hernandez does not have one in his squad. And the Barcelona boss has thus had to utilise Marcos Alonso as a makeshift centre-back in several games.
So Barcelona will prioritise signing a left-footed centre-back this summer. And several candidates have emerged on Barcelona’s radar, with Inigo Martinez being the leading option. Meanwhile, Aymeric Laporte is also a target, while Abakar Sylla has now popped up on the Catalan club’s wishlist.
The 20-year-old African centre-back is a more unheralded option than Martinez and Laporte. But considering his age and the stage of his career he is in, he might be the ideal candidate to bolster the Barcelona defence. That is because Xavi Hernandez can potentially groom Sylla to his liking.
In addition, the Ivory Coast international can serve Barcelona for over a decade if he progresses well. But the Blaugrana will face stiff competition from Premier League clubs for Sylla. So it will be interesting to see if the Catalan giants beat the competition to sign the 20-year-old this summer.
