{"id":67569,"date":"2026-08-08T01:22:23","date_gmt":"2026-08-08T01:22:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/67569\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T01:22:23","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T01:22:23","slug":"barcelona-open-to-selling-19-year-old-midfield-starlet-as-manchester-city-enter-race","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/67569\/","title":{"rendered":"Barcelona open to selling 19-year-old midfield starlet as Manchester City enter race"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Barcelona have been in negotiations with Manchester City to try to sign Spanish midfielder Rodri this summer.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">However, it looks like it is not just the Catalan club who are interested in signing a player from the Premier League team.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Manchester City also have a Bar\u00e7a player on their radar whom they could sign to bolster the midfield in the coming days.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">According to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mundodeportivo.com\/futbol\/fc-barcelona\/20260807\/1004214103\/manchester-city-interesa-tommy-marques-quieren-sporting-braga-borussia-dortmund.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Mundo Deportivo<\/a>, Tommy Marques looks increasingly likely to leave Barcelona before the summer transfer window closes.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Bar\u00e7a and the 19-year-old have already held discussions over a permanent transfer that would include a buyback clause, allowing the Catalans to retain long-term control.<\/p>\n<p>Manchester City have a plan for Tommy<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Manchester City\u2019s interest goes beyond simply signing the youngster.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Tommy-Marques-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"Tommy Marques, Barcelona player\" class=\"wp-image-182873\"  \/>Tommy Marques could be on his way out. (Picture credit: Instagram\/@tommy.marques)<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Premier League giants are considering purchasing Tommy before immediately sending him on loan to Girona, giving him regular first-team football while keeping him within the City Football Group development pathway.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The move would mirror City\u2019s approach with several young talents in recent years, allowing them to gain top-flight experience before competing for a place at the Etihad Stadium.<\/p>\n<p>Other suitors for Tommy<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">However, the Cityzens are not alone in their interest in signing Tommy.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Braga are understood to be pushing hardest for Tommy\u2019s signature, with head coach Carlos Vicens, formerly part of City\u2019s academy setup, keen to bring the Spaniard to Portugal.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Borussia Dortmund have also expressed interest in the 19-year-old La Masia prospect, continuing the strong relationship between the German club and Barcelona following recent business, including Karim Adeyemi\u2019s move to Catalonia.<\/p>\n<p>Rodri arrival changes the picture<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Barcelona have <a href=\"https:\/\/barcauniversal.com\/just-in-barcelona-and-man-city-reach-e50-million-agreement-for-the-transfer-of-rodri\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">decided to push to sign<\/a> Rodri this summer, and that decision has directly influenced Tommy\u2019s future.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1786152143_168_manchester-city-v-west-ham-united-premier-league-1-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"Rodri of Manchester City\" class=\"wp-image-208180\"  \/>Rodri\u2019s imminent arrival changes things. (Photo by Molly Darlington\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Earlier in the summer, the teenager was expected to remain with the first team and <a href=\"https:\/\/barcauniversal.com\/barcelona-academy-gem-poised-to-replace-e30-million-rated-star-in-first-team-squad\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">fill the role vacated by Marc Casado<\/a>, who is expected to be sold.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">However, Rodri\u2019s imminent arrival would further crowd an already competitive midfield, making a move away the most logical solution for all parties.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Crucially, Bar\u00e7a are not looking to cut ties permanently, understanding the obvious talent and potential that the 19-year-old possesses.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Instead, the club\u2019s preferred formula is a permanent sale with a buyback option and a sell-on clause, similar to deals they have completed with several academy graduates in recent years.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That structure would allow Tommy to continue his development elsewhere while ensuring Barcelona retain the opportunity to bring him back if he fulfils his considerable potential.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Rodri\u2019s arrival could lead to an exit or two at Bar\u00e7a, and it looks like Tommy Marques is set to become the first casualty of the operation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Barcelona have been in negotiations with Manchester City to try to sign Spanish midfielder Rodri this summer. However,&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":67570,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[92,222,223,272,8120],"class_list":["post-67569","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-barcelona","tag-barcelona","tag-barcelona-news","tag-fc-barcelona","tag-manchester-city","tag-tommy-marques"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67569","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=67569"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67569\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/67570"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=67569"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=67569"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=67569"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}