Barcelona face competition from Spanish club in race for 22-year-old centre-forward

Barcelona missed the opportunity to secure the permanent signing of young striker Pau Victor when he was still on loan at the club.

The 22-year-old centre-forward arrived last summer on loan from Girona and became a key player for Barça Atletic, finishing as the top scorer in the Spanish third division with 20 goals.

Barcelona had the chance to sign him up permanently for a fee of €3 million as part of their agreement with Girona, but the clause expired in April with the Catalans not activating it.

Now, the Blaugrana remain in talks with Girona to secure the signing of the young attacker, although they are encountering some difficulties along the way.

Barcelona joined by Real Zaragoza in Pau Victor pursuit

Apart from the Financial Fair Play and possible registration concerns, FC Barcelona now have to contend with added competition in the race for Pau Victor.

Indeed, as per SPORT, Barça have been joined by fellow Spanish club Real Zaragoza who also intend to sign the 22-year-old Spaniard from Girona.

Juan Carlos Cordero, Real Zaragoza’s sporting director, has reportedly already contacted the striker’s entourage to test the waters.

The Segunda Division club, however, would only be looking to sign Victor on a loan deal rather than get him permanently.

Victor’s contract with Girona runs until 2025 but the player is eager to return to Barcelona. However, the club are awaiting their return to the 1:1 ruling before making a concrete move to sign him.

Another issue would be that Victor will turn 23 years old later this year, meaning the club cannot register him with Barça Atletic and would have to enrol him as a first-team player. And there are doubts whether there would be enough salary space to do so.

With Marc Guiu having left, re-signing Pau Victor could be a good move for Barcelona as he can provide cover to Robert Lewandowski in the No. 9 role.

But with FFP hurdles and added competition, it remains to be seen if the move is possible or not.