Tottenham are reportedly in pole position to sign Barcelona youngster Carles Alena, considered one of the top prospects at the Catalan giants.
The 19-year-old’s current contract expires next June, but if he opts not to sign an extension, then clubs have an opportunity to snap him up for just €3m before the end of this month before it rises to €12m, as per AS.
Further, the report goes on to suggest that there are many clubs interested in the talented youngster, but it’s Mauricio Pochettino and Tottenham who are specifically mentioned as being best placed to snap him up.
While Barcelona boss Ernesto Valverde and the club want to extend Alena’s stay, the problem remains over whether or not he’ll get the regular first-team action that any young player craves. He’d get that at Tottenham as it’s claimed that he’d be included in the first-team squad in London, making that option the most attractive at this stage.
It’s also worth noting though how highly thought of he is at Barcelona, as the Blaugrana undoubtedly have countless talented young players come through the La Masia youth set-up, but few have gotten the level of praise and coverage as Alena has.
Having already lost Jordi Mboula to Monaco last week and with Eric Garcia expected to leave for Manchester City, Barcelona don’t want to lose a third gem and so it remains to be seen whether or not they can reach a new deal, or if Pochettino can tempt the young midfield to move to Tottenham this summer.
Alena has made 42 appearances in total for Barcelona B and the senior side, scoring five goals, while he’s represented Spain at U16, U17 and U19 level, making 28 appearances while scoring five goals.