Barcelona willing to let defender go as Porto open talks for Faye

According to latest media reports the Blaugrana are considering letting young defender Mikayil Faye leave for Portuguese side Porto.

FC Barcelona B v Cordoba CF - Primera RFEF Play Off Final 1st Leg
FC Barcelona B v Cordoba CF - Primera RFEF Play Off Final 1st Leg | Pedro Salado/GettyImages

But there is a condition attached before Barcelona will sanction the sale of the 19-year-old Senegalese centre-back.

That condition is that there is a buy-back clause inserted in the transfer deal so that the Catalan club can re-sign Faye at a later date, presumably if he has improved enough to merit such a deal.

All this comes as the Blaugrana attempt to grapple with severe financial problems, seemingly endless controversy and distraction off the pitch and with a new coach in the club's managerial hot-seat as Hansi Flick has taken over from Xavi.

Barcelona willing to let defender go as Porto open talks for Faye

It seems if this story is correct that youngster Faye is surplus to requirements under the German as he looks to re-shape the squad he has inherited.

He didn't feature in the first-team during the last campaign and instead played for the club's second team Barca Atletic but he did get a couple of call-ups to the squad.

Barcelona have a number of players who may depart this summer as the club faces those financial constraints and attempts to find the money to build a team which could compete against a resurgent Real Madrid next season.

Other players who have been - if very tentatively - linked with possible moves away from Camp Nou and who in theory might end up leaving the club, include Robert Lewandowski, Raphina and Vitor Roque.

While some of the current first-team squad might be available for the right fee, several of Barcelona's youngsters are flourishing after producing strong seasons last time out, with Lamine Yamal in particular, impressing in Spain's opening Euro 2024 win over Croatia.

Players like him and Gavi - who is currently injured - represent the future and will surely be the ones that new coach Flick seeks to build around over the next few years. However, it seems Faye is not one of those, at least not for now anyway.