Barcelona turn to proven strategy with Lovro Chelfi after Faye example | OneFootball

FC Barcelona have been very smart with their transfer business for the youth team in recent times, scouting players across the world, identifying talents, signing them for a significantly low fee, and then moving them on for a profit if they don’t have a future in the first team.

It is a very Borussia Dortmund-esque model that is serving the Catalan club very well, as seen with Mikayil Faye. The Senegalese defender was brought in for around €2.2m for the reserve team and moved on for close to €10.3m with Barcelona also reserving a buy-back clause and a 30% sell-on clause.

When something is working, then why disturb it, they say! Understandably, as per Mundo Deportivo, Barcelona are set to sign 18-year-old Croatian prodigy Lovro Chelfi in the same blueprint as when they signed Faye.

The Mikayil Faye blueprint

Croatian midfielder Lovro Chelfi.

The Croatian midfielder will join Barcelona’s reserve team from NK Kustosija, which is incidentally the same team Faye played for before his move to the Catalan club. With a low initial transfer fee, this signing proves to be a low-risk bet for the club.

If Chelfi is able to impress and enter the first-team picture, it proves to be a huge coup for Barcelona, but should it not work out as planned, they can always move him on, like they did with Faye. There is nothing to lose here.

The left-footed teenager has played much of his football as an attacking midfielder, but he can also play on the wing. He is a very good one-on-one player, with good passing ability, the vision to identify teammates, and also the ability to score goals.

Stacked attack

While signing him for the reserve team does make a lot of sense, a path to the first team could be difficult for the Croatian. The attacking midfield spot is stacked with talent, and on the right, Barcelona have Lamine Yamal, arguably the biggest talent in the world.

For the reserve team, however, Chelfi could be a massive addition for the upcoming season, as they look to swiftly gain promotion from the Spanish fourth tier. It remains to be seen how Barcelona go about his development in the coming months.