Chelsea, Liverpool, Man City, and Bayern Munich keeping tabs on Barcelona teenage jewel | OneFootball

As the European Championship called curtains last year in the summer, clubs started to go on tour to start their pre-season. During this time, several exciting players came through for Barcelona, headlined by the then-16-year-old Pablo Gavira, better known as Gavi.

The teenager got an assist in the opening pre-season friendly against Gimnastic de Tarragona, and was a constant feature for the rest of the games as well. It took him no time to get used to the Barcelona first-team, for whom he has now racked up 17 appearances in the league.

However, Gavi’s contract situation is a little problematic for Joan Laporta and co. His current contract runs down in 2023 and carries a measly €50 million release clause. Even though talks for a renewal are underway, several top clubs have kept their eye on the teenager.

According to SPORT, this quartet includes Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, and Bayern Munich.

Man City have been linked to Gavi for a few weeks now. Pep Guardiola considers the 17-year-old a perfect reinforcement in midfield and definitely has the financial muscle and ‘pull’ power to tempt both the club and the player.

However, with the talent at their disposal right now, it will not be surprising if they choose to pull off a Bosman transfer.

As for Liverpool and Chelsea, both clubs are short in the midfield department and could use with someone as dynamic as the Barcelona midfielder. Playing in the Premier League, they also definitely have the economic resources to trigger Gavi’s release clause.

Bayern are the dark horses in this four-club race. They are not known to splash the cash, and while the Spaniard is considered to be a generational talent, his release clause might be too much for them. That said, with Thomas Muller approaching 33, Gavi could learn from the German maestro before eventually taking over that attacking midfield role.

At the end of the day, though, all the signs point towards the La Masia graduate continuing at the club. Barcelona have kept a part of their budget aside for his new contract and ready to offer him a senior squad role soon enough.