Manchester City are reportedly set to enter the race for Barcelona forward Ansu Fati.
The Spain international joined Barcelona's famous La Masia academy aged 10, and he worked his way through the youth ranks before making his first-team debut as a 16-year-old in 2019.
Fati is closing in on 100 games for Barcelona, having registered 25 goals and nine assists in 96 appearances.
However, the 20-year-old's development was hampered by a lengthy spell on the sidelines from November 2020 and September 2021 due to a serious knee injury.
With the likes of Raphinha, Ousmane Dembele and Robert Lewandowski seemingly ahead of him in the pecking order, Fati has had to settle for nine starts in his 24 La Liga appearances this season.
© Reuters
Fati is under contract until June 2027 with an option to extend by a further two years, but his Barcelona future his shrouded in uncertainty after his father, Bori Fati, urged him to leave the club.
Barcelona may also need to sell players in the transfer window to improve their financial position, and Fati could be a potential candidate to leave the club.
Should the Catalan giants decide to offload Fati this summer, there is a belief that Manchester United would be favourites to secure his signature.
There is also said to be interest from a number of other Premier League clubs, including Arsenal, Chelsea and Newcastle United.
According to Football Insider, reigning Premier League champions Man City are now set to join the race for Fati's signature.
© Reuters
Despite being linked with a move away from Camp Nou, the forward is still keen to remain with the La Liga leaders.
Xavi has also insisted that he has "confidence" in the youngster and said that he emphasises with the comments made by Fati's father.
The Barcelona boss was speaking ahead of the club's away meeting with Elche, which takes place later on Saturday.
With the Catalan club boasting an eight-point lead over Real Madrid, they are closing in on their first league title since the 2018-19 campaign.
