Romano breaks Arsenal & Man Utd hearts with shock wonderkid bid update

Tom Weber

Updated: 17 Jun 2024 17:01 BST
3 min read

Fabrizio Romano, Arsenal, Man Utd — © IMAGO

Porto are set to launch a formal bid for in-demand wonderkid Mika Faye, according to Fabrizio Romano.

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The Barcelona youngster is one of Europe's most sought-after defenders despite having yet to feature for the Blaugrana's senior side - much to the annoyance of the club hierarchy.

It has been claimed that one of the factors that led to Xavi's sacking as head coach was his refusal to give Faye any minutes last season, which was bad news for the Barcelona brass trying to boost the 19-year-old's value.

Though there has been uncertainty surrounding the youngster's future, especially after he announced himself to the world with an absolute wondergoal on his senior Senegal debut, Barcelona it always seemed inevitable that the cast-strapped Catalans would be willing to sell him this summer.

It now appears as though this will soon materialise, though his destination will come as a major surprise to some people.

Romano on Faye

Despite being linked with the likes of Arsenal and Man Utd in recent months, it seems that Faye's immediate future may actually lie in Portugal. According to transfer expert Fabrizio Romano, Porto are set to launch a formal bid for the centre-back.

Romano asserts that Porto's opening bid for the teenager will clock in at just €15 million, though he did not mention whether this could be enough to tempt Barcelona into a sale.

The Blaugrana, for their part, are keen to not simply forfeit Faye forever. Instead, they will insist on a buy-back option being included in the deal, so that they will be able to bring him back for an affordable price should he manage to live up to his potential.

This is common practice at Barcelona, who did the same for Chadi Riad. They loaned the young defender to Real Betis, who subsequently signed him permanently. Surprisingly, however, the Blaugrana did not trigger their buy-back option and instead pocketed 50 per cent of €15m Crystal Palace just shelled out on him.