Barcelona made their first sale of the summer on Wednesday, with Como securing left-back Alex Valle on a permanent deal. They could be about to lose another talented youngster, with Noah Darvich on the agenda for Bundesliga side Stuttgart.
Darvich, 19, arrived from Freiburg as a 16-year-old for a fee of €2.5m following a brilliant under-17 Euros campaign with Germany. However he has struggled to make his mark since arriving in the Catalan capital. Spending his first season with the under-19s, despite Hansi Flick calling on him on a number of occasions to be part of the first team squad, Darvich has not managed to lock down a regular role for Barca Atletic.
Stuttgart want to sign Darvich on a permanent deal
Stuttgart have identified Darvich as a potential recruit this summer, say Kicker. Sport add to their reporting that the Blaugrana are listening to offers for Darvich, and that a deal could be worth around €4m. The sticking point is that Barcelona are keen to include a buyback option in the deal, but Stuttgart want total control.
Their intention is to replace Enzo Millot with Darvich, who is a target for Paris Saint-Germain this summer. Bayer Leverkusen are also thought to be keen on Darvich, and have made an enquiry into his availability. The fact that Barca Atletic are likely to descend to the fourth tier means Barcelona are open to an exit, and are keen for him to go to a strong league – with a buyback option.
Difficulties for Darvich and Barca Atletic relegation
The feeling is that Darvich has never managed extract his talent at Barcelona, and so for him, an exit probably makes sense. More than anything, bearing in mind the fact that Toni Fernandez, Pablo Torre, Fermin Lopez, Dani Olmo, Gavi and Pedri form a sizable roadblock to him getting first team minutes.
The relegation of Barca Atletic – they must win on the final day of the season and hope three results go their way to stay up – is certainly a major setback for the Blaugrana. If it was difficult to convince emerging talents to spend time in Spain’s third tier, that becomes even more difficult in the fourth division.
