Barcelona are optimistic about keeping hold of wonderkid Gavi despite him approaching the end of his contract.
The 18-year-old midfielder is the latest outstanding talent to rise up through the famous Barcelona academy, and is now more regularly involved in Xavi’s first-team.
Still, Gavi will be a free agent in a year’s time unless a new deal can be agreed with the Catalan giants, though Fabrizio Romano has played down links with the likes of Liverpool and Bayern Munich.
While it’s only natural that big clubs will have some admiration for a top young talent like Gavi, it seems Barca remain confident that they can keep the player, according to Romano in the latest edition of his exclusive CaughtOffside column.
Discussing Gavi’s future, Romano said: “One of the biggest young talents in Europe, there is speculation doing the rounds again that Gavi is attracting interest, this time from Bayern Munich, while his name has also been mentioned alongside Liverpool in the past.
“So far, my understanding is that no club has been in negotiations for Gavi because Barcelona consider him a key player for the present and the future.
“For some time there has been an advanced negotiation for his new contract and Barca are optimistic, they consider it a matter of time.”
Liverpool are a little short of quality in the midfield area, so it’s easy to see why Gavi could be a tempting option for them, as he would no doubt give them a fine player to build around in that department for many years to come.
? EXCLUSIVE ?
?? @FabrizioRomano on Naby Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain failing to make the #LFC #UCL squad: "I believe that next summer both players will evaluate their future. Keita has already had opportunities in the summer…"
Full story ??
— CaughtOffside (@caughtoffside) September 5, 2022
Still, it seems there’s not much more to this story, with Romano backing Barcelona to do their bit to keep the teenager.
While the Premier League may be a tempting destination for the world’s best players, it’s also clear Barcelona haven’t lost their pulling power, bringing in big names like Robert Lewandowski and Raphinha this summer.