Barcelona are looking at making a move for Watford’s 20-year-old star winger, Yaser Asprilla.
The Hornets are still just about in the hunt for the play-off places in the Championship. They are seven points back from sixth-placed Coventry City, having played the same amount of games as them.
The attacking production in Valerien Ismael’s side has been fairly well spread out this season. Not one player is really far ahead of the rest when it comes to the main areas, like goals and assists. But, Apsrilla is near the top of both of those categories in the Watford squad.
The Colombian international has come on leaps and bounds in his second season in the Championship, and his improved play has attracted attention from some of the biggest teams in Europe, like Galatasaray and Sporting Lisbon. Now, arguably the biggest club in all of football is looking at taking the 20-year-old away from London.
Barcelona are in the hunt for Yaser Asprilla
According to Sport, Barça are looking to secure the services of Asprilla as part of their plan to build for the future. The Spanish giants don’t want to miss out on any chances to sign some of the best young talent in the world.
Sport added that they want to be at the front of the queue for these types of deals. They expect teams in the Premier League to pick up their interest, so they want to be ahead of the rest when it comes to a deal for the Colombian.
Barça hold the 20-year-old in high regard. They like his versatility as a forward – he’s comfortable playing anywhere in a front-three – and they see him as being someone who is able to take that next step in his career to becoming one of the elite players.
Sport also reported that Watford will only sell their prized possession for €40-50 million (£34-43 million). The Hornets sold Joao Pedro to Brighton & Hove Albion last summer for just less than £30 million, as per The Athletic. The Spanish side’s financial difficulties could mean that a deal is undoable at that valuation. The club are looking at ways to make some money through the sales of some of their big-name players.
Barça’s proactiveness is good, but they may not want to rush into a deal for Asprilla
It shouldn’t come as a surprise that the 20-year-old has had some troughs this season. He’s been very good for the most part, but there have been some inconsistencies, which is natural for someone with his limited footballing experience. But this may make Barça want to hold off on any advances for a little bit.
Watford’s top 9 best managers in order of games won (Ranked)
The Hornets most successful managers in terms of wins ranked from nine to one.
Being at the front of the queue is all well and good, but they have to be certain that Asprilla is worth the eight-figure fees that are being mentioned before paying it. They already have a lot of talented, diverse wingers. Ferran Torres, Raphinha, and, most notably, 16-year-old Lamine Yamal.
He came into the team and looked well up to it from the get go. His numbers are down in comparison to Asprilla’s, but the context of the league in which he’s playing in, and the competition for a place in the team have to be taken into account.
|
Yaser Asrpilla and Lamine Yamal’s 23/24 campaigns (as of 20th Feb 2024) |
|||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Games played |
Starts |
Goals |
xG |
Assists |
xA |
Big chances created |
|
|
Asprilla |
31 |
16 |
6 |
4.3 |
5 |
3.5 |
4 |
|
Yamal |
25 |
13 |
3 |
4.25 |
3 |
4.65 |
9 |
|
Stats taken from Sofascore |
|||||||
Barça are open to offloading the likes of Raphinha, who was bought for almost €60 million from Leeds United in the summer of 2022, so that would open up a space on the wings, and generate some cash to spend on the Colombian. But they shouldn’t be rushing to buy him before anywhere else, because, if he doesn’t deliver, as so many Barça purchases over the last decade haven’t, then they will have put themselves in an even bigger fiscal hole.
