Chelsea to battle La Liga giants for rising Ligue 1 starlet

Chelsea to lock horns with Barcelona in their transfer pursuit of PSG midfielder Kays Ruiz-Atil

A report by Spanish outlet AS (h/t football.london) mentions that Chelsea are interested are keen on a transfer for PSG midfielder Kays Ruiz-Atil. The Blues, however, are not the only side interested in him.

Spanish giants Barcelona are also linked with a transfer for the 18-year-old starlet. He is attracting the attention of the two clubs after a breakthrough season in France.

Ruiz-Atil was signed by Barcelona in the summer of 2009. Almost 6 years later, he joined the youth academy of Paris Saint-Germain in 2015. He has featured for their development team in the past 2 years.

The midfielder has already appeared in the UEFA Youth League 11 times. And to add to that, he recently made his senior debut this season. (h/t transfermarkt)

A long-term option?

The attacking midfielder has made 7 appearances for PSG in Ligue 1 this season. He last featured for the senior squad in December in a 3-1 away win against Montpellier.

But since then, he is yet to play a minute for Mauricio Pochettino’s side. On paper, Chelsea don’t look like they need an urgent reinforcement in attacking midfield. The team recently bought a plethora of attacking players at the end of last season.

Frank Lampard brought in Kai Havertz and Hakim Ziyech in the creative department of their midfielder to their already strong squad. But at just 18, one could argue that Ruiz-Atil would be a long-term signing.

He has just made his senior debut and would benefit from experience before making a step up to the first-team. But if Chelsea do make their interest in him formal, they would have a hurdle to cross.

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Barcelona are one of the biggest clubs in the world, and rivalling them for a youngster’s signature could prove to be difficult.