Serie A striker addresses past transfer links to Barcelona: “Would’ve been a very nice dream” | OneFootball

During an interview with Gerard Romero’s Jijantes FC, Lazio striker Valentin ‘Taty’ Castellanos remarked that it would have been a ‘nice dream’ to join a club like Barcelona after rumours of interest had surfaced earlier this summer.

Castellanos, 24, spent the last season on loan at Girona in La Liga, arriving from New York City FC.

The Argentine enjoyed a fairly solid campaign, with his standout display coming against Real Madrid, when he scored four goals to lead the Catalan club to a 4-2 victory.

Barcelona would have been a ‘dream’ for Castellanos

Following that, reports emerged that Barcelona had been impressed with Castellanos and would consider him as an option for the summer. Nothing really came of it though and the forward ended up joining Lazio in the transfer window.

However, in the interview, Castellanos admitted that it would have been great to join a club like Barcelona, as he said:

“There were rumours of my arrival at Barça and contacts with the people around me, but I had to be calm because I knew there would be a lot of rumours. It would have been a very nice dream to come to a team as big as Barça.”

Praise for Romeu, Yamal

Romeu, Yamal were praised by Castellanos. (Photo by Florencia Tan Jun/Getty Images)

Further discussing Barcelona during his interview, Castellanos also touched upon the topic of Oriol Romeu, who was his teammate at Girona last season.

And the Argentine lavished praise on Barça’s summer signing, terming him as one of the best midfielders in the game.

“I had the opportunity to share some time with Oriol Romeu and he is an incredible person. For me he is one of the best midfielders in the world. He’s a person who doesn’t talk a lot but on the pitch he’s different,” the Lazio forward said.

Castellanos also had some nice words for Barcelona youngster Lamine Yamal, who penned a three-year contract with the club earlier today.

“Lamine has to go step by step, his environment has to take care of him because he is very young and one has to keep a cool head. You never know, but surely because of the qualities he has he will make it to the top level,” the Argentine remarked.