Arsenal are reportedly chasing highly rated forward Munir El Haddadi according to The Metro. The 18-year-old Barcelona player is one of the most promising youth stars in Spain and looks to have an exciting career ahead of him and Arsene Wenger wants to bring him to Arsenal to continue his development.
Wenger could land the player for as little as £9.4 million, the player’s buy-out clause, but Barcelona are determined to keep hold of the player and will look to offer him a new contract with a much higher release fee in the coming days.
The promising forward has been part of the Barcelona youth system since 2011 having joined the Catalan side from Atletico Madrid. He broke into the Barcelona B team last season where he made 11 appearances and scored four times.
New manager Luis Enrique, who wants to incorporate more youth players in his new squad, gave the 18-year-old a chance in the senior side against Elche last weekend. El Haddadi repaid this trust by putting in a fine performance and even managed to grab a goal as Barcelona would convincingly.
El Haddadi would not be the first youngster that Arsenal have managed to pry away from Barcelona in recent years. Due to their similar playing style they have convinced players such as Cesc Fabregas and Hector Bellerin to leave La Liga to come to The Premier League.
Despite the fact he has played for the senior side already, the youngster is unlikely to get significant game time this season with the likes of Neymar, Suarez, Pedro, Tello and Messi all ahead of him in the pecking order. This may convince him to look to another club to get regular football. Combined with the fact that Arsenal have an established reputation of developing youth players, El Haddadi may feel a move to The Emirates would be good for his career.
Arsenal fans: keen?
