Borussia Dortmund has suffered a setback in the transfer market. A top talent allegedly also courted by BVB is drawn to FC Barcelona.
FC Barcelona have signed the 18-year-old top talent Mikayil Faye from the Croatian second division club NK Kustosija – and set a future transfer fee at 400 million euros. The Catalans announced this on Monday.
The Senegalese, who are said to have been interested in BVB, will receive a contract until 2027.
At Barca, Faye, nicknamed “Monster”, should have little chance of playing minutes in the first team for the time being. The commitment of the defensive talent is probably more of a long-term plan for the Spanish champions.
The “Daily Mail” had previously reported on BVB’s interest in Faye. Chelsea FC was also mentioned as an interested party.
However, transfer insider Fabrizio Romano had already reported last week that the object of desire was drawn to Barca. According to the well-connected Italian reporter, a fee of five million euros plus bonus payments should go to Kustosija.
Faye played 13 games for Kustosija last season, eleven of them in the starting XI.
BVB is probably giving up defensive talent
The central defender had already attracted international attention in 2019 at the U17 World Cup in Brazil when he was 15 at the time. With the selection of Senegal, the left footer reached the round of 16. Faye had previously gained initial experience at the U17 Africa Championship as a 14-year-old.
Kustosija had only signed Faye from Diambars FC in his home country last February and given him a long-term contract. Now he is already drawn to one of the top addresses in international football.
So while Faye is not coming, another defensive jewel will probably leave BVB at least temporarily: According to “L’Équipe”, Dortmund are initially parking 19-year-old Soumaila Coulibaly on loan at FC Burnley in the English Premier League. At the moment, however, negotiations are still ongoing about a possible purchase option.