Manchester City reportedly asked Barcelona about the availability of Alejandro Balde ahead of the recent summer transfer window.
The Citizens ended their latest summer window by securing deals for Mateo Kovacic, Josko Gvardiol, Jeremy Doku and Matheus Nunes.
With the window now closed, one journalist has shared some behind-the-scenes details regarding another player the Manchester club apparently had their eyes on.
Romano says City asked Barcelona about Balde
Speaking in a recent video on his YouTube channel, Romano had this to say on the matter.
He said: “From what I heard, this summer, it was early, it was the end of April, beginning of May so the very early stages of the summer transfer window, Manchester City asked for information about Balde.
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“People at Man City really like Balde, they believe he has fantastic potential and so they asked Barcelona about some possibility for Balde, maybe to make a bid, maybe to discuss about a swap deal, but from Barca, the answer was a no because Balde was never considered as a player on the market.
“They trust Balde, they want Balde to be a part of the project and his contract is extended until 2028.”
After working his way through the club’s youth ranks, the 19-year-old has made 54 senior appearances for Barcelona across all competitions, chipping in with one goal and seven assists.
The previous La Liga campaign saw Balde score one goal and deliver six assists in 33 appearances, which shows how useful he can be in terms of delivering goal contributions.
In fact, only two players made more progressive carries (96) and delivered more crosses into the penalty area (35) than the Spaniard last season.
Then from a defensive point of view, Balde racked up the second-highest number of successful tackles (30) in the Barcelona squad, showing how useful he is off the ball as well as on it going forward.
With all of that in mind, it’s easy to see why City had their eyes on the player and why the Spanish club didn’t consider letting him leave over the summer.
Moving forward, with Romano mentioning the player extending his contract at Barcelona, it seems unlikely that City may be able to sign Balde in the near future.