Barcelona have beefed up their ranks in midfield by bringing in Ilkay Gundogan and Oriol Romeu. However, the club could end up signing another midfielder before the transfer window comes to a close.
According to SPORT, Barcelona are studying the possibility of signing Oscar Zambrano. The club are not willing to spend €5 million desired by LDU Quito but are thinking of lowering the cost of the operation through other methods.
Who is Oscar Zambrano?
A defensive midfielder by trade, Zambrano has enjoyed a rapid rise to prominence in his native Ecuador.
He has featured in 29 competitive matches for LDU Quito and is also a regular for Ecuador’s U20 squad.
Barcelona scouts have filed a good report on Zambrano, due to his strong physique and defensive qualities in the middle of the park.
The youngster was recommended to the Catalan club through Edmundo Kabchi, the agent of Ronald Araujo.
Barça have since monitored the player very closely, especially after his impressive performances in the recent FIFA U20 World Cup.
Barcelona’s plan to sign Zambrano
Barcelona want to sign Zambrano as part of the Barça Atletic squad. They want to reinforce the subsidiary squad so that any individual from the team is ready to make the jump to senior football.
However, the Blaugrana are not willing to cough up €5 million for a player, who will be joining the subsidiary squad for now, and as such, they are exploring ways to lower the value of the operation.
Barcelona may also contemplate handing LDU Quito a part of the player’s rights, thus enabling them to earn a percentage of the midfielder’s future sale.
The coming weeks could prove to be crucial as Barça look to land the young Ecuadorian ahead of the new season, especially with several other clubs looking at the South American defensive midfielder.
