In recent days, Barcelona transfer news has been dominated by one man: Mikayil Faye. The 19-year-old defender looked set to leave the club this summer, with Porto being the main candidates to sign him. However, an agreement at this stage seems far from simple.
Sporting director Deco made the trip to Portugal to discuss terms with his former employers, and it seems he communicated Barcelona's tough stance. As Fabrizio Romano has revealed, the Catalans will only accept a fee in the region of €15-16 million, while they also want an agreement to include a buy-back option and a sell-on clause.
FC Porto and Barcelona continue negotiations for Mikayil Faye. The Catalan club have set their request: €15 / €16 million + a buy-back option and a % of a future sale. @Fabrizio Romano
— Barcacentre (@barcacentre) June 27, 2024
Barcelona's requests will make it very difficult for Porto to sign Faye, because due to financial problems, they can only afford to pay €5mwhich is significantly short of the valuation set by Los Blaugrana.
It remains to be seen how the negotiations between them will play out Barcelona and Porto. The gap in valuation could bring other clubs into the mix – one of those could be Arsenal, that holds an interest in the Senegalese defender.
