Over the past few days, it has become clear that Liverpool Montevideo midfielder Fabricio Diaz is a player that is on the radars of FC Barcelona.
The 20-year-old Uruguayan ace has been making all the right noises in South America and has caught the attention of the Blaugrana, who are on the lookout for a long-term replacement for captain Sergio Busquets.
Earlier this month, Diaz’s agent was in Barcelona and met with the club officials to discuss a possible transfer. Soon after, reports in Uruguay emerged that the Catalans had closed his signing for a fee of €8 million.
However, the Spanish media refuted those claims and suggested that while a deal is not closed, Barça are indeed working on signing the young midfielder.
Now, Joaquim Piera of SPORT has come up with a fresh update on Barcelona’s pursuit of Diaz, stating that the 20-year-old is prepared to wait for the club to make an approach and is, for the time being, ignoring offers from Brazil.
From the Catalans’ point of view, though, the operation is currently on ‘standby’ as they await clarity on the Financial Fair Play front.
The ideal scenario from the club’s standpoint would be to agree a deal with Liverpool Montevideo before the summer and incorporate Diaz into the Barça Atletic setup from where he can grow into a first-team role gradually.
But, with there being not enough clarity on the Financial Fair Play situation and the margin that they will have, the report states that Barcelona might be reluctant to spend €6 million on the player who will likely be joining the subsidiary team.
Diaz and his entourage are aware of the interest from Barcelona and their situation as well. And it is claimed that they are willing to wait for the La Liga leaders, however, only up to a certain point of time as there are other European clubs interested in him as well.
