Barcelona reject RC Lens’ €9 million bid for 19-year-old defensive wonderkid after internal talks
As per news reported earlier today, Barcelona had received an official offer worth around €9 million for teenage defensive sensation Mika Faye from French outfit RC Lens. They wanted to bring him on loan with an obligation to buy for the quoted amount.
Previous to this, Barcelona had been approached by a fair few clubs, including Chelsea, who were also in the race to sign him when he initially moved to the Catalan capital in the summer.
Borussia Dortmund and Girona were also reportedly interested in his services, but all three clubs, and possibly more, were rejected by Barça. They have put a lot of faith in Faye for the future, and believe he is one of the best centre-back prospects in the world.
A recent report on Faye’s situation, with respect to Lens’ bid has been issued by Fabrizio Romano now.
The journalist claims that Barcelona had internal talks today to discuss the bid, but have decided to turn it down, as well. They are not ready to let Faye leave the club this early.
As a left-footed technically solid centre-back, the Senegalese is a highly-craved profile for a lot of top clubs who want to implement a positional play system at their club.
As such, it is no surprise that his value has sextupled within six months of his arrival, and will likely only increase from here on as the season goes on.
Barcelona will likely implement a similar strategy to the one they used with Ronald Araujo with Faye. Build his physical and technical foundation while he is still very young before giving him chances with the senior team.
He is expected to have his breakthrough next season, as Barcelona look to offload either Andreas Christensen or Jules Kounde, or possibly even both if the right offers arrive.
Bringing back Chadi Riad from Real Betis for €7 million is also an option, but if Faye’ development continues to be positive, it is not entirely propostrous to suggest that the 19-year-old could be a part of the centre-back quartet.
