Barcelona set sights on 18-year-old Croatian centre-back prospect – report | OneFootball

Barcelona continue to track young talent with an eye on the future, to strengthen their youth and reserve ranks.

A move for teenage Al Ahly striker Hamza Abdelkarim remains in the work, with the youngster expected to arrive to strengthen the Barça Atletic ranks.

Now, it appears that the Blaugrana have set their sights on a defensive prospect to bolster their options at the back for the reserve team.

Leon Jakirovic on Barcelona’s radar

Indeed, according to SPORT, Barcelona have shown an interest in signing Leon Jakirovic, an 18-year-old defender from Croatian club Dinamo Zagreb.

Jakirovic, regarded as one of the great prospects in Croatian football, was promised a significant role, but the opposite has occurred, and he now wants to leave.

Barcelona followed him at the Under-17 World Cup held in Qatar last November, and the reports were very positive.

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However, a move for the youngster is being held up by the club’s Financial Fair Play situation.

Indeed, the reserve side, like the first team, remains unable to strengthen due to FFP restrictions, and there is no available salary space to complete the operation, despite some movement behind the scenes.

Therefore, a player must leave before another can arrive, with offers likely to be considered for Mamadou Mbacke or even Alvaro Cortes.

It is one of the reasons why the move for Abdelkarim has stalled and could prevent the Catalans from bringing in Jakirovic.

Moreover, AC Milan are also keen on Jakirovic and are prepared to pay €2.5 million for him, complicating matters further for Barcelona.