Prem clubs rival Barcelona in stunning transfer race for Port Vale teen after three senior games
Barcelona and some Premier League clubs have reportedly lodged shock interest in Port Vale teenager Liam Brazier, who has played just three senior games in his career.
It would be the stuff of dreams for any teenager to get a move to the Premier League, or potentially get plucked from their boyhood club to Barcelona, having shown their talent at such a young age is just too much to ignore.
That could be the case for Port Vale’s Brazier, who, according to the Mirror, is ‘attracting the attention’ of European giants Barca, while also being ‘on the radar’ of some English top-flight clubs due to his performances in junior football.
The 17-year-old has played three senior games, totalling just 20 minutes, but clearly has something special about him given so many big sides are eyeing him up.
Port Vale are likely to continue utilising him amid interest, and could also move to tie him down in order to ensure he stays, or that they receive the maximum benefit if he has to be sold.
Indeed, according to the report, Barcelona’s tracking has ‘raised eyebrows’ and Port Vale have quickly moved to tie the midfielder down to a professional contract so that if he is to leave, Barca or any other interested side will have to pay them a fee.
It’s unclear what sort of offer they’d be looking for in order to let him go, but they’d surely have his best interest at heart if he was to leave them, and might not necessarily look for the biggest sum.
Indeed, the next move could make or break his career, so Port Vale will want to think carefully about the role they play in it.
Louie Barry moved to Barcelona as a youngster and it did not work out for him, before he came back to England with Aston Villa, and is now out on loan in League Two.
It’ll never be known if he’d have already properly found his feet if he never went to Barca, but it’s certainly something to think about for Brazier, who’s only just getting to grips with English football.
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