FC Barcelona Interested In Signing ‘New Pogba’ Ryan Gravenberch, Claims Report

FC Barcelona are interested in signing Ryan Gravenberch from Ajax, who has been described as the ‘new [Paul] Pogba’ by the Spanish press.

At just 18 years of age, Mundo Deportivo believe that the 1.90m tall midfielder “has the physical and technical conditions to be the third Ajax footballer who, after [Frenkie] De Jong and [Sergino] Dest, joins Barca in the last two years”.

Additionally, current Blaugrana coach Ronald Koeman is said to be a fan and is already aware of his compatriot’s abilities.

De Jong costing €75mn in the summer of 2019, and already established as a leading light of the Amsterdam giants’ impressive run to the Champions League semi-finals that year, Gravenberch would be priced in the same region as the similarly-aged Dest.

A fee between €20-25 mn is what it would take to land the Netherlands U19 star, and comparisons to World Cup winner Pogba can also be made through their agent and not just a shared style of play.

In an another indicator of Gravenberch’s potential, his main representative is the controversial Mino Raiola – with whom Barca have previous.

Around the same time that De Jong chose the Catalans over Paris Saint Germain and Manchester City, FCB were also on the verge of landing Matthijs de Ligt: a much-needed center back who at the time was captaining Ajax to domestic dominance at the age of 19.

Fearing that his charge would be overshadowed at the Camp Nou in favor of Gerard Pique, however, Raiola pushed De Ligt towards Juventus to learn under Giorgio Chiellini and Leonardo Bonucci, with relationships soured between the parties ever since.

It is probably no coincidence then that given Raiola’s previous dealings with the Old Lady through Pogba and De Light’s transfers, Barca’s UCL opponents tomorrow at the Juventus Stadium are also keen on Gravenberch.