Barcelona very close to signing teenage wonderkid from English club – report | OneFootball

FC Barcelona remain strongly focused on recruiting young talents to bolster their youth and reserve ranks and turn them into stars for the first-team setup.

Work is being done to get the signing of 17-year-old striker Hamza Abdelkarim from Al Ahly over the line, while the Catalans remain alert to other exciting youth prospects.

One such player happens to be 15-year-old Norwich City winger Ajay Tavares, with reports earlier today suggesting that Barcelona were well-positioned to sign the youngster.

Deal very close

Building on that, SPORT now reports that Barcelona are indeed very close to completing the signing of Ajay Tavares from Norwich City.

Despite being from the United Kingdom, the player holds a European passport, which allows him to be transferred once he turns 16 on 28 December, without having to wait until he turns 18 years old.

Currently a part of Norwich City’s Under-18 setup, Tavares is a footballer whose primary position is left winger, but due to his height and power, he has also played as a centre-forward.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by AJAY TAVARES (@ajay_tavares)

The young attacker has already broken into the England Under-17 setup and made an impression, having previously played for the Under-15 and Under-16 teams.

Thanks to his performances both internationally and with his club, he has attracted interest from Premier League teams as well as clubs from outside England. However, it appears that Barcelona will ultimately secure his services.

Given that he has already been playing with and against footballers two or three years older than him, if he were to move to Barcelona, he could quickly earn a place in Juliano Belletti’s Barça Atletic roster.

It remains to be seen whether his transfer will be completed in the winter transfer window, as he could represent a useful reinforcement for Barça Atletic in their fight for promotion, even if he is not expected to go directly into the reserve team.