Arsenal, Newcastle United contact Barcelona starlet’s camp amid contract limbo

Alejandro Balde is enjoying a fine breakthrough campaign at Barcelona this season, establishing himself as a key part of Xavi Hernandez’s plans.

Just 19 years of age, the La Masia graduate has overtaken Jordi Alba and Marcos Alonso to become the first-choice left-back, racking up three assists in 19 appearances across all competitions.

However, Balde’s contract situation is causing a few concerns at the Barcelona offices. The teenager’s current deal with the Blaugrana runs until the summer of 2024.

While reports have suggested that negotiations with his agent, Jorge Mendes, over a new deal have progressed well, Barcelona still are unclear whether they will be able to register his new contract with La Liga due to Financial Fair Play issues.

Alerted by the situation, Premier League giants Arsenal and Newcastle United have contacted Balde’s camp to explore the possibility of a summer transfer reports SPORT.

Both the player and the club want to continue the partnership. And talks of a new deal until the summer of 2027, with a release clause of €500 million were rife not very long ago, with an agreement understood to be close.

However, Balde’s recent comments left the door open for a possible exit, as he said: “Everything is managed by my agent. I want to stay here, but no one knows the future.”

The aforementioned report from SPORT claims that it seems impossible for Barça to register Balde’s new contract at this time due to salary limit issues. So, the player would have to wait until June for official registration, meaning his wage increase would be delayed by six months.

That is something the player and his camp did not like. Furthermore, it is uncertain whether there would be enough margin for the new deal to be registered in the summer either.

The contract limbo has alerted the likes of Arsenal and Newcastle, who are interested in securing the services of Balde. The Premier League clubs are believed to have made contact with his representatives to test the waters.

Barcelona, for their part, wish to close Balde’s renewal in January and register it as well, so as to remove any uncertainty regarding his future. However, at this point, there is still no final resolution.

Balde’s agent, Jorge Mendes, has previously offered Barcelona the possibility of selling him as an avenue to generate income. However, they are not entertaining any such possibility and wish to address the matter by the end of the month.