Saudi Arabian giants make enquiry for 19-year-old Barcelona defensive talent | OneFootball

Clubs from Saudi Arabia have taken a keen interest in young talents coming through the ranks at FC Barcelona’s La Masia academy.

While the Middle Eastern teams retain a strong interest in top stars such as Robert Lewandowski, they are also closely tracking some promising starlets.

Unai Hernandez was the first player to be lured away back in January, with Al-Ittihad signing him. Since then, a number of youth prospects from the Catalan giants have left for clubs in Saudi Arabia, UAE, and Qatar.

Now, it appears that another promising young player from Barcelona has emerged as a target for a team in Saudi Arabia.

Alexis Olmedo on Al-Hilal’s radar

Indeed, according to Jijantes, Al-Hilal have expressed an interest in signing Barcelona defensive talent Alexis Olmedo.

The Saudi Arabian outfit have made an enquiry for the 19-year-old defender, who is currently a part of the Barça Atletic squad.

A versatile player capable of playing at centre-back and right-back, Olmedo has yet to make his senior debut for Barcelona, but was in Hansi Flick’s matchday squads on multiple occasions last season.

The teenage prodigy has two years left on his current contract, which runs until 2027, and now has attracted interest from Saudi Arabia.

Al-Hilal, for their part, have lodged an enquiry for Olmedo but have not yet presented Barcelona with a formal offer as of yet.

Whether that changes in the coming days and whether Olmedo follows in the footsteps of former Barcelona talents like Unai Hernandez, Pau Prim, and Arnau Pradas to move to Saudi Arabia will be interesting to see.