Manchester City, Chelsea and Newcastle 'rival Barcelona' for Dutch teenage defender

During the January transfer window, FC Barcelona showed interest in young Ruud Nijstad (18). The Catalan club failed to finalise the deal and could come to regret it this summer.

The interest in the Dutchman is part of a new Barcelona strategy focusing on young players. Indeed, the La Liga champions are making multiple approaches for promising talents of a certain age: Hamza Abdelkarim (18) will soon leave Al Ahly for Catalonia, as will Patricio Pacifico (19), while Ajay Tavares (16) and Juwenley Onstein (18) are also in the pipeline. There are also "discussions" for Jesse Bisiwu (18).

Nijstad is another very young target (18) for the Spanish club, and according to Wfcgroningen, Barca have been trying for several weeks to convince the defender not to extend his contract with Twente, which expires in June 2027.

Barca competing with the Premier League and Bundesliga for Nijstad

For their part, TEAMTalk report that numerous clubs have joined FC Barcelona in the race for the Dutchman. Having made 10 appearances for Twente this season, the left-footer is of interest to Manchester City, as well as Chelsea and Newcastle United in the Premier League.

Furthermore, the Bundesliga have also spotted Nijstad: Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund and RB Leipzig are interested in the player.

As reported by the British outlet, FC Barcelona hesitated to spend £8.5m (€10m) on the defender this winter, as requested by Twente. And now, the gem could slip away from the Catalan club.

Barca to be beaten by Chelsea, Manchester City or Bayern Munich?

Indeed, this strategy of targeting youngsters with high potential who have not yet fully broken through places Barca in a market where prices have not exploded.

The Spanish club primarily want to recruit smartly, even though some targets, such as Alessandro Bastoni (Inter), require breaking the bank – Barca nevertheless do not appear in a position to finalise a deal for the Italian.

For Nijstad, the hope is that the player will be convinced by the Catalan club's pitch, which plans to sign the defender and initially send him to the reserve team before promoting him to the first team if his early steps are satisfactory.

TEAMTalk report that this plan has not convinced the player himself for now. FC Barcelona therefore appear even more at the mercy of the competition.