Barcelona scouting 22-year-old forward despite agent admitting Real Madrid are close

Barcelona are on the hunt for ‘opportunities’ according to Sporting Director Deco, and one of the most sought-after forwards has caught their eye.

Feyenoord forward Santiago Gimenez is the joint-top scorer in Europe currently after Serhou Guirassy for Stuttgart, with 15 goals and 3 assists to his name in just 11 games, and has been catching the attention of many side of late.

The Mexican forward has a contract until 2027, and a release clause of €40m, but at 22 years of age, many would consider it a smart investment. Including Barcelona by the looks of things. Sport say that the Blaugrana are tracking Gimenez, although they are not planning a move any time soon, due to the fact that Vitor Roque will be arriving in the near future. Nevertheless, Gimenez is on their radar in the event that they might want to move for a striker.

The chances are, he will have moved on from Feyenoord by that point. Already his agent Morris Panganiello has admitted that Atletico Madrid, Inter, Milan, Lazio and Napoli have expressed an interest in his client, but noted that the teams who were ‘closest’ were Real Madrid and Tottenham Hotspur.

These comments perhaps should be taken with a pinch of salt, given it benefits Panganiello to name-drop a number of the top clubs in Europe. However there is little doubt that Gimenez’s excellent goalscoring form will have earned him a spot on several shortlists.