Manchester City aims to win the Valentin Barco race and loan the 19-year-old Chelsea target to Leicester City.
According to The Sun, Manchester City are already making big plans for Valentin Barco ahead of a potential move in January. The Premier League champions are keen on securing the Argentine from Boca Juniors and loaning the 19-year-old Chelsea target to Leicester City in the Championship to gain valuable experience.
The South American market has opened up in a big way, as more English sides are looking close to some of the young talents coming through from there. Real Madrid and Barcelona have invested in future stars, with Chelsea also putting big money into prodigious talents.
Manchester City have already got in the act and have already previously unearthed a world beater in Julian Alvarez. The Argentine has already won the treble and the World Cup in his first full season outside of South America. Pep Guardiola’s side are now interested in another player as they close in on Valentin Barco from Boca Juniors.
Manchester City are ready to launch a €15 million bid, which is close to what Boca Juniors want for Barco. Guardiola identified the 19-year-old as a proper target, with the club already making big plans to shoehorn him into their first-team plans.
Before that, they plan on loaning him to Leicester City, referred to as the ‘finishing school’. The idea is to sign Barco in January and let him spend the next six months with the Foxes to boost Enzo Maresca’s chances of gaining promotion back to the Premier League.
Maresca, who has worked with Guardiola before, would benefit from this deal. Manchester City hope to seal the deal in January. Even if the transfer gets delayed until the summer, they would still like Barco to join Leicester to gain valuable experience.
Standing between Manchester City and Barco are Chelsea, with the 19-year-old a big target for the Blues hierarchy. The London side have kept constant tabs on many South American youngsters, including the Boca Juniors star.
Chelsea, Manchester City, and other teams saw Barco play well in Boca Juniors’ loss to Fluminense. He did come out of the game with flying colours, but now it may be the time to make the big step into the English league.
In January, Manchester City are likely to sign Barco from Boca Juniors. They are the favourite and will pay around €15 million, including add-ons.
