According to a report in BILD, Barcelona are interested in signing 17-year-old left-back Almugera Kabar from Borussia Dortmund. Kabar is a highly-rated youngster at the famed Borrusia academy, but the report indicated that Dortmund are looking to hold onto their prized asset.
Working under certain limitations, Barca’s transfer policy has shifted in the last 12-18 months with a bigger emphasis on free transfers like Inigo Martinez and İlkay Gündoğan, and attracting talented youth like Julián Araujo, Pablo Torre and Mikayil Faye.
Now they’ve turned their attention to Kabar who is one of the more exciting prospects in the Dortmund academy.
Although BILD reported that certain negotiations have begun between the player and the club, it did specify that Dortmund had no interest in selling Kabar this summer and would instead concentrate on his development in their youth ranks.
If Barca were able to pull off this transfer, Kabar would join Rafael Márquez in the Barcelona Atlètic team, although the article suggests that management has already mapped out his route to the first team, which is standard practice when trying to convince a youth player to switch allegiance.
Is Kabar’s route blocked by Alejandro Balde?
Although Barca management may have mapped out the route for Kabar, considering he’s only played defensively as a left-back for the Dortmund youth set-up he has a rather big roadblock in Catalonia.
Alejandro Balde is set to commit his future to the La Liga champions this summer having turned down a big offer to join Manchester City.
Balde is not only one of the more promising prospects in the Barcelona set-up, but he’s one of the most promising left-backs in world football, and he won’t turn 20 until later this year.
I’m a huge proponent of adding as much depth as possible, especially in the youth ranks. But maybe a switch to the right side would open up a few more opportunities for Kabar if he were to make the switch to Spain.
Kabar is set to be promoted to the Borussia Dortmund U-19s team this year after winning the UEFA European Under-17 Championship last month with Germany.