Norwich City head coach Philippe Clement claimed the club has not given up hope of keeping Ajay Tavares out of Barcelona’s clutches.
The English prodigy, who is being pursued by some of Europe’s best clubs, could leave the Canaries when he turns 16 this Sunday.
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After Brexit, the FA, Premier League and EFL introduced rules that prevented clubs from signing foreign players under the age of 18.
Similar restrictions usually apply to homegrown talent wanting to play abroad, but Tavares also holds a Portuguese passport.
This leaves the attacker free to immediately make contact with Barcelona, who have reportedly won the race to sign him from Norwich.
Barcelona closing in on England prodigy
Tavares, who was wanted by Bundesliga giants RB Leipzig and Borussia Dortmund, is initially expected to be part of Barca’s U19 team.
Reports from Spain suggest the 15-year-old will move to Barcelona B to continue his development ahead of a future loan move.
It’s a similar path to the one we took Aston Villa‘S, Louie Barry. who became the first English player at La Masia in 2019.
However, Norwich manager Philippe Clement, who was appointed last month, claimed that Tavares was already the perfect club to progress.
“I know him of course and it’s maybe something we haven’t discussed yet, but Ryan (Garry), my assistant, will be the bridge to the academy,” he told the Pink Un, who also revealed that club officials have had no contact from Barca.
“It’s a very important role. I always give this responsibility to someone in the team. I’ve also done this role in Bruges, so I know how important it is and I get to know the talent much quicker.”
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Clement on Barcelona’s interest in Tavares
“Many young players are now training regularly with the first team,” continued Norwich head coach Clement.
“Ajay is a very interesting player on this list and I also know that he played with the first team in the training camp in the summer and performed well there. He is very young. He is still very young.”
“But of course we want to retain our best talent because that is one of the most important things for the future and we have discussed with the owners that they also want players from our academy to grow and be included in the first team.
“Norwich has a good reputation for that, perhaps recently.
“And it’s also something that I enjoy doing and that I’ve always been involved in at all my clubs. That’s why we obviously want to keep Ajay.”
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Who is Ajay Tavares?
Tavares made his unofficial senior debut for Norwich during a July friendly against Volendam under former coach Liam Manning.
The four-time England U17 international cannot sign his professional contract at Carrow Road until he turns 17 this time next year.
Norwich’s U18 team sit 14th out of 15 teams in the U18 Premier League South, but at individual level Tavares recently scored a 16-minute hat-trick in a 6-0 win over Malaga Academy.
He could join the growing English talent at Barcelona, with England U15 newcomer Will Ferdinand Cvek already in the squad.
Under-19 left-back Alex Walton was born in Catalonia but is eligible to represent the Three Lions’ youth and senior teams due to his family.
Marcus Rashford also becomes the first Englishman to play at the Nou Camp in 40 years after joining on loan from Manchester United.