La Liga outfit drop out of race to sign €10 million-rated Barcelona midfield starlet

Nico Gonzalez is one of many Barcelona players facing an uncertain future at Camp Nou. The youngster is coming on the back of a loan spell at Valencia but is likely to embark on yet another adventure elsewhere.

To that end, FC Porto have been heavily linked with a move for Nico lately, and the same applies to Valencia. The Spanish outfit had shown the desire to re-sign the player in the ongoing summer transfer window.

But according to SPORT, Valencia have now withdrawn from the race to sign Nico. After signing Pepelu, Los Che simply do not have the financial capacity to make a move for the young midfielder this summer.

Although Nico is rated highly in the Barcelona camp, his prospects of gaining regular minutes in the first team remain bleak. This is because Barcelona have already roped in Ilkay Gundogan while Oriol Romeu is also set to join the Catalan outfit ahead of the new season.

Nevertheless, Barcelona have decided to include Nico as part of the team travelling to the United States for the pre-season preparations, despite the fact that the youngster might end up leaving the club.

With that in mind, FC Porto remain best-positioned to sign Nico. The Portuguese giants have shown the desire to sign the youngster on a loan deal, though it remains unclear whether or not Barcelona are ready to add a permanent purchase clause to the contract.

Nico, whose market value stands at €10 million, is unlikely to object to another loan spell away from the club, given as he would have found limited opportunities at Barcelona.

Apart from Valencia, there was interest from the likes of Real Betis and Girona as well. But Porto appear to be the frontrunners for his signing as they can offer him Champions League football.