Barcelona unlikely to sign ‘next Pedri’ from Las Palmas

Barcelona’s struggles in the absence of Pedri have highlighted the importance of the former Las Palmas prodigy in Xavi’s side, who find it hard to retain possession every time the Spaniard isn’t on the pitch.

Pedri came off with a thigh injury in the first leg draw against Manchester United at Camp Nou in February. Many believed Barca would’ve managed to keep their lead intact in the second leg had the Spaniard featured at Old Trafford.

Barcelona did beat Real Madrid at Santiago Bernabeu on Thursday but had to adopt a very conservative approach to keep the hosts at bay.

Pedri’s impact in Catalunya has put Las Palmas, the club where he had his breakthrough, in the spotlight, with many Spanish top-flight clubs hoping to pluck the ‘next Pedri’ from the Canary Islands outfit.

Barcelona unlikely to sign ‘next Pedri’ from Las Palmas

Alberto Moreiro is the new star on Las Palmas’ books, and has been tipped to follow Pedri’s footsteps. Last summer, Barcelona even found an agreement in principle to sign the 19-year-old capable of playing as a winger and in the middle of the park.

Las Palmas president Miguel Ángel Ramírez said (via SPORT): “It was not an economic problem, in the summer there was an agreement in principle but then things could not be done.”

But the deal didn’t advance due to the economic fair play. And the two clubs haven’t spoken about Moreiro since then.

A number of ‘big teams in European and Spanish football’ remain interested in Moreiro, but it seems Barcelona are unlikely to make any move for the youngster.

Barcelona are reported to be prioritizing the signing of Bernardo Silva from Manchester City. The Portuguese midfielder will undoubtedly be a more expensive signing than Moreiro, but at the same time, he has the pedigree to not just challenge Pedri but even replace him if need be.