Barcelona send scouts to watch 15-year-old Norwegian striker who broke Erling Haaland’s record | OneFootball

According to Mundo Deportivo, Barcelona have stepped up their interest in another teenage attacking talent, with scouts from the Catalan club travelling to watch Norwegian striker Gabriel Rajkovic.

As per the report, the 15-year-old is already making an extraordinary impression at senior level with Valerenga and has even scored twice for the first team. 

His rapid emergence has attracted attention from several major European clubs, with Barcelona now among those monitoring his development.

Rajkovic’s rise is particularly striking because of the age at which he has started producing senior goals. 

His record-breaking breakthrough in Norway has inevitably invited comparisons with Erling Haaland, although the teenager is still at the very beginning of his career.

Barcelona scouts watch Gabriel Rajkovic make history

Barcelona’s interest became concrete when club scouts attended Valerenga’s match against Bodø/Glimt on August 8.

That was the night Rajkovic scored his first professional goal, becoming the youngest goalscorer in Eliteserien history at 15 years, five months and 15 days.

The goal could not prevent Valerenga from losing 2-1, but it placed Rajkovic in Norwegian football’s record books.

The Haaland comparison is particularly eye-catching, as the former Molde striker was 17 years and 16 days old when he scored his first goal for the club, meaning Rajkovic has reached the milestone considerably earlier.

Furthermore, Rajkovic has already made 14 senior appearances for Valerenga despite being born in 2011, giving scouts a substantial sample of his ability against experienced opposition.

Rajkovic attracts Arsenal and Chelsea interest

As expected, Barcelona are not the only major club monitoring the teenager.

Premier League sides including Arsenal and Chelsea are also keeping tabs on Rajkovic, although Brexit-related regulations create an important difference between the English clubs and Barça.

English clubs cannot sign him before he reaches adulthood under the post-Brexit rules, while Barcelona could potentially move for the striker when he turns 16 because of his EU citizenship.

That could allow the Catalan club to act earlier if their interest develops into a concrete pursuit.

Barcelona continue searching for elite young talent

Rajkovic’s emergence fits into Barcelona’s recruitment strategy.

The club has increasingly looked beyond their traditional academy pipeline for young players with significant potential and recent arrivals such as Hamza Abdelkarim, Jesse Bisiwu and Dany Freire demonstrate the scope of that approach.

Rajkovic would represent another long-term project rather than an immediate first-team solution. At 15, his development remains the priority, even if his record-breaking start has already accelerated interest around him.

For now, though, Barcelona appear to be monitoring the Norwegian, and whether those observations eventually lead to an offer will depend on how Rajkovic develops over the coming months.