Rumour: Barcelona keen on signing 19-year-old Uruguayan star
What's the story?
Barcelona are said to be tracking highly-rated Uruguayan midfielder, Nicolas De La Cruz, and could make a move for him in the summer. Italian publishing house SportMediaset claims the Catalan club has been scouting the 19-year-old throughout this season and see him as a part of their first-team plans from the 2017/2018 season.
Having often seemed to be low on numbers in the midfield department, Luis Enrique's side are on the lookout for young promising talents who could come in, learn from the very best and then take over when the time is right.
In case you didn't know...
Nicolas De La Cruz is a 19-year-old Uruguayan talent often touted to be the best young player coming through in the country. With the versatility to play either as a left-back, centre-forward or an attacking midfielder, he's shown a lot of promise this year for Liverpool FC Montevideo – his current club.
With four goals and two assists so far in the Uruguayan league, he's impressed a host of scouts currently monitoring that market. Given his talent, his skill level and his potential, Barcelona will have to bid in the region of €8 million to secure his services.
The heart of the matter
With Barcelona feeling the strain of continuously playing Andres Iniesta and Sergio Busquets and having not been fully satisfied with Andre Gomes, the club is actively scouting young attacking midfielders capable of joining come the summer.
Iniesta is now 32 and entering the final stage of his career and the club are willing to give bright young players the chance to take over and combine with two of their other stalwarts in Ivan Rakitic and Sergio Busquets. Replacing Xavi and Cesc Fabregas failed for the club and they hope young De La Cruz can undo that damage by living up to his potential at the Camp Nou.
What's next?
With Andre Gomes linked with a move to Juventus in the summer, there opens up a slot in midfield for a non-La Masia star to come in and stamp his authority. And given how Barcelona are famous for signing raw players and turning them into diamonds, the approach for the young Uruguayan could very well follow said path.
Sportskeeda's take
While De La Cruz might make the move to the Camp Nou in the summer, he's going to need a settling-in period and having yet to represent his national side at the senior level, lacks the kind composure and maturity that's required to play in one of the world's biggest clubs.
Either way, given his talent, age, price point and potential, he seems like a player to watch out for. And should he join the Catalans in the summer, he'll be someone to watch out for even more.