Barcelona are close to agreeing terms for Real Valladolid starlet Ivan Fresneda, according to reports in Spain.
ESPN say that a deal is in the works to take the 18-year-old right-back to Barcelona, with a five-year contract being offered to him. In spite of his €20m release clause, Barcelona would be looking at a deal worth around half that.
This would add up with reports from MD (via Sempre Milan) that Milan are piling on the pressure with a €10m bid for Fresneda. That has inspired the Blaugrana to move more quickly, and they will meet with Fresneda and his representation next week in order to discuss a deal.
Borussia Dortmund, Newcastle United and Arsenal have all been strongly linked with Fresneda over the past six months, but there has been plenty of misinformation regarding the youngster.
Fresneda was not a guaranteed starter at Valladolid last season, as they were relegated to Segunda last season. That said, Fresneda will never have a clearer path to the right-back spot at Barcelona. Jules Kounde is currently being used as a makeshift option there, with Julian Araujo something of an unknown quantity as an alternative there. If he can improve quickly, he will be able to convince the Blaugrana hierarchy that there is no need to invest heavily in a long-term solution.
