Pranav Nair
Blow for Manchester United as Barcelona prepare for talks with Ilaix Moriba
According to Marca (h/t Daily Mail), Barcelona are set to hold talks with Ilaix Moriba amidst interest from a number of clubs including Manchester United.
The 18-year-old is among the best young talents to emerge from La Masia in recent years. He currently has a year to go on his contract and negotiations with Barcelona have so far failed to yield results.
United have been aware of the youngster’s talent for some time and even made an unsuccessful bid to land him in March.
A number of top teams including Manchester City and Chelsea are keen on the youngster. Barcelona, for their part, are eager to keep him and are set to persuade him to stay put.
The Catalans are set to offer Moriba a new three-year deal. They are keen to prevent a scenario that would allow him to discuss a pre-contract agreement with non-Spanish clubs from January next year.
Moriba made 18 appearances for Barcelona last season. He scored one goal and assisted three during that time. (h/t Transfermarkt)
It was reported earlier that Moriba’s wage demands are a major factor in holding up the deal. It remains to be seen if either the player or the club will concede ground in negotiations.
Moriba has a buy-out clause of £86m and it remains to be seen if United can make use of his contract situation to bring down the price. According to Mundo Deportivo (h/t Daily Mail), the Red Devils have already made the youngster an offer.
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Barcelona have so far focused on bringing in free agents this summer. With a deal for Georginio Wijnaldum now thrown into doubt, it remains to be seen if the Catalans will make use of the amount earmarked for him to meet Moriba’s demands.
If they don’t, the youngster has no dearth of options available to him in the market.
