Barcelona demand €20m for teenager amid interest from German giants – originally posted on Sportslens.com
RB Leipzig have submitted a bid for Barcelona midfielder Ilaix Moriba, according to Spanish outlet Mundo Deportivo.
Moriba made his breakthrough at Barcelona last season. He earned his La Liga debut in February in a 5-1 win over Alaves, registering an assist for Francisco Trincao. A few weeks later, he bagged his first senior goal, firing in from outside the box in a 2-0 victory over Osasuna.
The 18-year-old’s future has been cast into doubt lately. He has under one year remaining on his current contract, and it is looking like he doesn’t want to renew. As a result, manager Ronald Koeman excluded him from the matchday squads against Real Sociedad and Athletic Bilbao.
Bundesliga side RB Leipzig are said to be interested in taking the young midfielder. Mundo Deportivo reports that the German side have submitted a €6 million bid for the Spain youth international. However, this is well short of Barcelona’s €20m asking price.
The Catalan giants are in desperate need of funds. They have racked up over €1bn in debt, forcing them to offload players. All time top goalscorer Lionel Messi has been the most notable departure, moving to Paris Saint-Germain.
RB Leipzig will be hoping to close the gap on Bayern Munich, who are aiming to win their tenth league title in a row. Last year, the Bavarians finished 13 points clear of Die Roten Bullen, and have since taken manager Julian Nagelsmann and defender Dayot Upamecano off them.
New boss Jesse Marsch has already been busy in the transfer window. The likes of Andre Silva, Josko Gvardiol, and Mohamed Simakan have been brought in, while Angelino and Benjamin Henrichs made their loan moves permanent.
They started the campaign with a disappointing 1-0 defeat to Mainz, but have since bounced back with a 4-0 thumping of Stuttgart.
Read also: Barcelona to receive cut of transfer fee with Marc Cucurella’s move to Brighton
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Author:charliestewart