Barcelona have reportedly ended their interest in Flamengo youngster Lucas Paqueta, with two major reasons being touted as to why.
The 21-year-old has been earning rave reviews for his form in his homeland, scoring six goals and providing four assists in 28 outings this season.
Coupled with the fact that he is still so young and has his entire future ahead of him as well as the general qualities he brings in midfield aside from his decisive touch in the final third, he has shown enough early promise to suggest that he has a very bright future ahead of him.
However, as noted by Sport, Barcelona will not be one of the clubs pursuing his signature amid talk of a €35m valuation from Flamengo. That is down to two crucial reasons, one is that it’s suggested Barca don’t think he’s ready yet for a move to Europe and it’s claimed that they believe he needs more time in Brazil to improve.
Further, with Arthur, Malcom and Arturo Vidal taking up the three non-EU spots in the squad, it’s unlikely that they will be able to create space for Paqueta to allow him to be eligible to feature, and so that’s another major obstacle standing in the way of a possible deal.
It may not be too big a blow for the Catalan giants though, as it’s suggested that Adrien Rabiot and Frenkie de Jong remain the two alternatives for coach Ernesto Valverde to bolster his midfield further.
Given that the Spanish tactician saw Arthur and Vidal arrive this past summer, it’s questionable as to whether or not he really needs to add more in that department already.
However, if the club does opt to strengthen in that area, it seemingly won’t be Paqueta who joins to address the issue.
It’s added that perhaps Paris Saint-Germain or AC Milan could now be in line to benefit, as they’ve been tipped to continue to monitor Paqueta’s situation moving forward.