Barcelona scout Red Bull Salzburg forward Erling Braut Haaland?

Barcelona have reportedly identified Red Bull Salzburg forward Erling Braut Haaland as a potential future signing.

While the 19-year-old has been considered as one of European football's top prospects for at least a year, the youngster's stock rose further this week with a hat-trick against Genk in the Champions League.

The treble has naturally led to speculation regarding how much time he will spend with the Austrian outfit, although it appears that one of European football's biggest clubs already have a long-standing interest.

According to reports in Spain, Barcelona had a scout present to assess the development of Haaland during the Under-20 World Cup, which was held in May and June.

Haaland made the headlines after scoring a remarkable nine goals in the same match against Honduras, despite having failed to net in Norway's previous two fixtures.

There are still just under four years remaining on Haaland's contract.