Barcelona had a very good summer transfer window, which saw them improve their first team squad as a whole ahead of the 2-23-24 season. The likes of Ilkay Gundogan, Joao Cancelo and Joao Felix all arrived, and the Catalans did not spend very much money in the process.
Barcelona’s first signing of the summer was one that has gone under the radar. Mikayil Faye joined from the Croatian’s second division, and the 19-year-old has been making waves at Barca Atletic in recent weeks.
However, the situation could have been so different. According to Sport, Chelsea were also very keen on signing Faye, and they had even drawn up a contract for the Senegalese to sign. Unfortunately for the Premier League side, Faye chose Barcelona instead.
🚨 If Barça had not given the final OK, Mikayil Faye would have signed for Chelsea or Genk a few hours later. The English already had the documentation for his signing drawn up. @tjuanmarti 🇸🇳 pic.twitter.com/HCfJai10RJ
— barcacentre (@barcacentre) September 14, 2023
Barcelona gave the final “okay” for the move back in June, but if they had delayed for even a few hours, it is expected that Faye would have opted to join Chelsea. As such, they will be delighted to have moved quickly to finalise the operation.
Faye is expected to play a key role for Barca Atletic this season, and if he impresses, a promotion to the Barcelona first team is not out of the question.
