Barcelona lose to Real Madrid in pursuit of teenage attacking prospect – report

Amidst their ongoing financial issues, FC Barcelona have turned their focus towards identifying and signing young talents with great potential to reinforce their youth and reserve ranks.

As such, the Catalans have been paying attention to several youth prospects from within Spain and outside with an eye on the future.

While Barça have tasted success in some avenues, it appears that they will likely miss out on one of their youth targets this summer.

Barcelona to miss out on Jairo Morilla

Indeed, as per The Athletic, Barcelona are set to lose out to arch-rivals Real Madrid in the race to sign Spanish teenage striker Jairo Morilla.

Morilla, 15, is a product of the Real Betis youth academy where he has enjoyed great progress.

Even though he is part of the Under-15s, the young centre-forward already made his debut for Betis’ Juvenil B side in 2023/24 – three age-group levels higher than his current one.

Morilla has won various honours with the Spanish Under-15 national team while captaining the team and is currently part of the Under-16 setup.

A talented young striker, Morilla had been on Barcelona’s radars, with the Catalans even holding talks to bring him to La Masia in the summer.

However, the 15-year-old is now headed for Barcelona’s arch-rivals Real Madrid instead, who not only beat the Catalans but several other clubs to the teenage striker’s signing.