Bayer Leverkusen ready to offer €20 mill for Barca Forward

Abde Ezzalzouli is a wanted man. The Barcelona forward is being tracked by a number of teams as doubts have been raised about his future with the Blaugrana, with the Morrocan believed to be worried about his first-team minutes this year.

Abde has made two substitute appearances to start the season, being the first man off the Bench during Barca’s 0-0 draw away at Getafe, and then received 22 minutes during the home opener against Cadiz at the weekend.

Now according to a report in SPORT, German side Bayern Leverkusen are ready to test Barcelona’s desire to keep the young forward at the club by offering €20 million + add-ons.

Barcelona would prefer to keep Abde

The report indicates that the club would prefer Ansu Fati to move on, but his reluctance to leave the club may force the exit of Abde with Barcelona needing to create incoming revenue to balance the books, especially if they hope to sign another midfielder during the transfer window.

Xavi is looking for an inside forward in the mould of Bernardo Silva, with the Manchester City man set to sign a contract extension to keep him with the English Champions, attention has turned to Tottenham midfielder Giovani Lo Celso.

With the imminent arrival of Joao Cancelo, Barcelona will almost certainly have to sell players to facilitate a move for Lo Celso or any other midfielder. Their preference is to keep Abde considering his strong performance at Osasuna last year and his promising start to the 2023-24 season, but the financial reality of the club means Xavi may be forced to let him go.

With Ansy Fati set to stay and the emergence of Lamine Yamal, Barca does have the cover for Abde. Although letting a promising 21-year-old forward go is rarely a smart business decision, especially when he’s only expecting to fetch around €20 million.

Bayern Leverkusen are managed by former Real Madrid midfielder Xabi Alonso and started their Bundesliga campaign with a good 3-2 win at home to RB Leipzig, they’ll also take part in the Europa League this year, presenting a good opportunity for Abde.

Aston Villa & Real Betis are also interested in signing Abde

Bayern Leverkusen are not the only team showing interest in Abde with Premier League side Aston Villa also tracking the Moroccan.

The report indicates that Real Betis were interested in Abde, but certain financial restrictions may prevent them from turning that interest into a solid proposition.

If Barcelona are to sell Abde, I’m sure they’ll work to insert a re-purchase option and sell-on percentage into the contract.