Brighton & Hove Albion goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen was reportedly watched by officials from Barcelona during the recent round of UEFA Nations League matches.
The Netherlands international has now established himself as his country's number one goalkeeper and started both of the Netherlands' quarter-final clashes with Spain earlier this month.
Verbruggen did not enjoy his finest hours against the European champions, though, conceding five goals over the two legs before La Roja prevailed in a tense penalty shootout.
Verbruggen did manage to save a penalty from Lamine Yamal, though, and the 22-year-old could apparently be playing alongside the teenage phenom soon if reports are to be believed.
According to Sport - via Sky Sports News - Barcelona have Verbruggen on their radar for a future transfer and sent club chiefs to run the rule over his performances against Spain.
Barcelona 'to delay' Verbruggen move until 2026
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However, Hansi Flick's side will reportedly hold off on making an attempt to sign Verbruggen in the upcoming window and instead intend to wait until 2026 before stepping up their interest.
Verbruggen has a contract with Brighton until the summer of 2028 and is still on the same terms he penned when he arrived from Anderlecht in 2023, although an extension is not beyond the realms of possibility.
The 22-year-old initially had to share goalkeeping duties with Jason Steele during the Roberto De Zerbi era at Brighton, but since Fabian Hurzeler took charge, he has been the Seagulls' undisputed number one.
Verbruggen has kept six clean sheets in 27 Premier League appearances for the Seagulls over the current campaign, taking his total for the South Coast side to 14 shut-outs from 57 games in all tournaments.
The Dutchman's side are in the European mix as they sit seventh in the Premier League table, just two points below fourth-placed Chelsea in the hotly-contested race for Champions League football.
What is the latest with Wojciech Szczesny's future?
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Verbruggen will seemingly inherit the number one shirt from Marc-Andre ter Stegen if he is to move to Camp Nou in 2026, and Barcelona have already had to cope without the German for almost the entire season due to a serious knee injury.
Rather than rely on Inaki Pena for the full campaign, Barcelona managed to coax Wojciech Szczesny out of retirement, and the former Arsenal and Juventus shot-stopper has earned plenty of plaudits for his displays so far.
Szczesny is only under contract at Camp Nou until the end of the season, but club officials reportedly intend to offer the Pole an extension, hence their decision not to go all out for Verbruggen this summer.
However, if Szczesny decides that he does not want to pen fresh terms, it will be interesting to see whether Barcelona bring forward their pursuit of Verbruggen to the upcoming summer window instead.
Ben Knapton
