Barcelona leading Real Madrid in the race for teenage midfield talent | OneFootball

Barcelona and Racing Santander have been in negotiations for the transfer of Jorge Salinas for a while now, and negotiations are moving in the right direction.

As reported by SPORT, however, he is not the only Racing player Barcelona are interested in, as the Catalans are now reopening their interest in Sergio Martinez, one of their most talented midfielders.

It is not the first time Deco and Co. have been interested in the youngster’s signing, for they made an offer in January only for the deal not to go through. Now, they return in his pursuit once more.

Barcelona are pushing

As reported by the Spanish outlet now, Barcelona are pushing to sign the teenage talent and see him as a valuable option on multiple fronts.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Sergio Martínez Montero (@ssergiomm14)

For starters, the administration sees him as a top talent to reinforce the Barça Atletic setup as a key player and possibly even a starter. Concurrently, the Catalans also acknowledge that he has the talent required to make it big with the first team in the near future.

As matters stand, Barcelona and Real Madrid are both interested in the player but it is the Catalan side who lead the race. 

Racing, however, are making negotiations complicated as they only renewed him last November until 2029 and increased his release clause to €3 million. They demand a large sell-on clause, something Barcelona are not happy giving away.

A high-quality midfielder

Martinez stands out as one of Racing Santander’s most talented prospects and is a midfielder who would fit well into Barcelona’s dynamic.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Sergio Martínez Montero (@ssergiomm14)

He is already a Spanish under-19 international and has great ball control in addition to being astute with his tactical sense. Further, his physique is dominant and he can add brawn to Barcelona’s midfield.

In recent years, he has worked hard to improve the defensive aspect of his game as well and can now play seamlessly as a pivot on need.

Given that Tommy Marques and Brian Farinas are set to leave the subsidiary side, he would be a great addition, but Barcelona will have to fast-track the negotiations given the interest from other parties.