Real Madrid plot to hijack Barcelona’s pursuit of 18-year-old midfield prodigy | OneFootball

According to a report from Roger Torello in Mundo Deportivo, Real Madrid are now interested in signing Baye Coulibaly, a talented midfielder from Mali’s U-20 international squad.

In the last few months, Barcelona have been exploring options to strengthen their reserve team, and Coulibaly, 18, was one of the top candidates.

They had also set their sights on Coulibaly and if reports are to be believed, he was close to joining Barcelona during the last transfer window.

Barcelona were in touch with his agent

According to the report, Barcelona had been in discussions with Coulibaly’s agents and were impressed by his potential.

The club viewed him as a player with significant talent, especially considering his performances in previous tournaments like the Under-17 World Cup, where he had made a name for himself.

However, despite being close to securing his signature, Barcelona decided to pull back from the deal due to a major factor—Coulibaly’s participation in the African Cup of Nations in January.

Baye Coulibaly has attracted interest from Barcelona and Real Madrid. (Photo by Angel Martinez/Getty Images)

The tournament would have caused him to miss more than a month of football, and Barcelona were not keen on losing such a crucial player for that period.

Then Real Madrid entered

With Barcelona stepping away from the deal, Real Madrid have now entered the scene. According to reports, the Madrid-based club is monitoring Coulibaly closely.

Although he primarily plays as a defensive midfielder, Coulibaly is also versatile enough to feature as a centre-back, which has caught the eye of Juni Calafat, one of Madrid’s key talent scouts.

Madrid see him as a potential option to fill the gap left by Dani Carvajal, who is expected to be out for the rest of the season due to injury.

Additionally, Arsenal have also shown interest in Coulibaly, joining the list of clubs looking to secure his signature.

It is clear that Coulibaly’s future is attracting attention from some of Europe’s biggest clubs, and it remains to be seen where the young talent will end up.