Premier League sides Manchester City and Arsenal have reportedly expressed their interest in signing Barcelona midfielder Pedri.
According to Spanish outlet Fichajes, Barcelona are sensationally considering whether to sell Pedri this summer amid concerns that his consistent physical problems mean that he will be injury-prone throughout his career, with Arsenal and Manchester City leading the chase for the Spanish midfielder.
The 21-year-old is widely considered one of the best midfielders in Europe and has already established himself as a star player for the Catalan giants since breaking into the first team in 2020. He has already racked up 120 appearances for Barca in all competitions, scoring 17 goals, although he has been limited to just 11 outings for Xavi’s side so far this season due to various muscular problems.
He has missed 13 games this season due to injury, continuing a trend from the previous two campaigns. Pedri missed 15 games due to injury in 2022/23, while he missed 41 games in 2021/22.
With Pedri’s contract expiring in 2026, Barcelona have a decision to make, and there is the possibility that they could consider a sale to alleviate their desperate financial situation, which comes as music to the ears of his suitors, including Arsenal and Manchester City.
The Gunners, for one, may have tasted back-to-back defeats in the Premier League, but they are still in with an excellent chance of winning the title this season. It was widely reported last year that Arsenal intended to buy two mega-money midfielders, but only one arrived in the form of £105 million Declan Rice, with Kai Havertz not quite turning out to be the midfield success story as expected by many.
As a result, players like Fulham’s Joao Palhinha and Real Sociedad’s Martin Zubimendi have been linked. However, Pedri is arguably the most exciting name on their shortlist, and his creativity and ability to open up defences would take their midfield to a whole new level.
Manchester City, meanwhile, could regard Pedri as a potential long-term replacement for 32-year-old playmaker Kevin De Bruyne, who has had his fair share of injury problems of late and is attracting some interest from the Saudi Pro League. Summer recruit Matheus Nunes has looked like what he did at Wolves—not a player obviously ready to fit into the world champion’s squad.
Signing a certain Barcelona superstar would benefit Pep Guardiola’s side. Make no mistake about it: Pedri is one of the most elite young players in the world, and his attributes would complement the defensive strength and passing skills of Rodri.
