Barcelona battle two Premier League clubs in the race for 19-year-old midfield enforcer

Oscar Zambrano of Ecuadorian club LDU Quito has been garnering a lot of attraction of late, with Barcelona among the clubs interested in securing his services.

The 19-year-old midfield enforcer is already a first-team regular for his club and has featured 29 times in total, scoring one goal.

Beyond that, his performances at the FIFA U-20 World Cup with Ecuador further caught the eye of scouts of top clubs from across Europe, including Barça.

It has been suggested that the Blaugrana intend to sign Zambrano this summer as a reinforcement for Barça Atletic but see him as a player who can make the jump to the senior team in the near future.

Stiff competition in race for Oscar Zambrano

However, signing Zambrano is proving to be tricky for Barcelona as the 19-year-old is attracting widespread interest from teams across Europe, reports SPORT.

Indeed two clubs from the Premier League, West Ham United and Crystal Palace, have entered the race for the teenage defensive midfielder and intend to sign him in the ongoing transfer window.

Apart from the two English teams, FC Porto, who are close to signing Barça youngster Nico Gonzalez, are also keen on the Ecuadorian talent and would be willing to offer around €3.5 million for him.

Confirming the growing interest in him, Zambrano recently said: “My agent told me that three countries have been approaching me and now they are analysing it, especially La Liga.”

“I hope it happens, but I’m in no hurry to leave, I’m aware of my young age and I want to leave when I’m not lacking anything. I want to be one hundred percent ready in all areas, because it’s Europe,” he added.

LDU Quito are open to selling Zambrano in the current transfer window but would be holding out for a fee of €5 million for their talented youngster.

With competition for his services growing by the day, Barcelona will need to act swiftly if they are to sign the 19-year-old.