Transfer Centre

Manchester City 'tried to sign Barcelona's Lamine Yamal this summer'

By Andrew Delaney, Reporter | 16 September 2023

Man City 'tried to sign Barcelona's Lamine Yamal this summer'

Manchester City reportedly 'went all out' in an attempt to sign Barcelona youngster Lamine Yamal during the summer transfer window.

Manchester City reportedly tried to sign Barcelona teenager Lamine Yamal during the summer transfer window.

In the past week, an advisor to Barca president Joan Laporta revealed that the club were close to losing Yamal and other teenage prospect Alejandro Balde.

Man City are believed to have shown interest in Balde too, but the duo ended up staying in Catalonia.

Marca claims that Man City went all out to try to sign the 16-year-old and there were doubts over whether Barca could keep hold of him and Balde.

However, the club now look set to offer new contracts to the duo, with new sporting director Deco claiming they are in the process of renewals.

The Premier League club would go on to sign Jeremy Doku and Matheus Nunes late in the window, potentially after missing out on Yamal.

Deco appeared confident when speaking about their futures, saying: "Lamine Yamal will sign until 2026, and Balde, in principle, will do so until 2028."

FC Barcelona sporting director Deco speaks during the board meeting on September 13, 2023 © Reuters

Yamal being only 16 limits the length of contract that Barcelona can offer him, so a three-year deal is the longest that he can be tied down for.

Scoring the final goal in Spain's 7-1 thrashing of Georgia in Tbilisi last week has catapulted Yamal's name into the headlines.

Coming on as a late first-half substitute made Yamal Spain's youngest-ever player, before finding the net within half-an-hour to also become their youngest scorer.

After making his debut as 15-year-old in April, Yamal has already become a regular starter at club level, featuring from the outset in Barca's previous three matches, as well as in Spain's 6-0 win over Cyprus.

According to Deco, Balde, at 19, will sign a five-year deal having nailed down a place as Barca's undisputed number one left-back.

The emergence of Balde pushed long-serving Jordi Alba onto the fringes before he eventually left for Inter Miami, while Marcos Alonso appears to now be second choice.

Balde still has some work to do to get into the Spain squad though, after Luis de la Fuente preferred Jose Gaya during the recent international break.