Chelsea and Manchester City are in the race for Barcelona midfielder Ilaix Moriba. U19 Spain international’s future at the Camp Nou continues to get more uncertain by the day.
Premier League clubs have already approached Moriba over a possible switch while offering him wages worth €6m per year.
Ilaix joined the Blaugrana’s famous La Masia academy from Espanyol in 2010 and has, over the years, been recognised as one of the best footballers in his age group.
The Spanish midfielder received his big break in the first-team setup at the Catalan club last season, going on to feature 18 times for Barcelona so far.
However, despite making quite an impression in his breakthrough season, the 18-year-old midfielder is facing an uncertain future at Camp Nou, owing to an impasse with the Blaugrana over the terms of a new contract.
With his current deal running out next year. This has alerted several teams, with Chelsea and Man City among those keen on signing the midfielder. At the London club, the German manager currently has only three central midfielders at his disposal, as far as the regulars are concerned.
The likes of Barkley, Loftus-Cheek, Ampadu and others have all returned from their loan spells the last term but do not look to be a part of the German tactician’s plans for the new campaign.
And the Blaugrana’s contract rebel Ilaix Moriba is also a viable target for the London giants as they can add more variety to their midfield department. However, Chelsea face stiff competition from Premier League rivals Man City in his pursuit.
Like the Blues, Man City have also been linked with Declan Rice, with Swiss midfielder Denis Zakaria another one of their targets this transfer window. However, a box-to-box midfielder could be the need of the hour amid question marks surrounding Bernardo Silva’s future at Man City.
To that end, Ilaix is an option worth considering. However, the update is quite bizarre, seeing as it suggests the Blues and Man City would be willing to double his wages to nearly €6m per year.
That is a huge amount for the footballer still in his teens and a figure that the Catalan club are highly unlikely to match. What now stays to be seen is if Chelsea and Man City do take their interest in the Spanish midfielder forward by making a move for him.
