New favourite emerges for 18-year-old Barcelona target Gabriel Moscardo as Chelsea step back from

Barcelona Sporting Director Deco reportedly preferred 18-year-old Brazilian talent Gabriel Moscardo to be the long-term option at the pivot position, following the departure of Sergio Busquets. However as he watches on, Moscardo looks increasingly more distant.

The Blaugrana’s interest in the Corinthians starlet was revealed several months ago, with a price tag of €25m memntioned. However the interest of Premier League giants Chelsea has complicated matters.

Yet this week, it appears another wealthy competitor has edged ahead in the race for Moscardo’s signature. Fabrizio Romano has told Caught Offside that Paris Saint-Germain are set to open talks with him soon, with Chelsea no longer set to bid for him.

“No details yet but PSG will open talks to sign Gabriel Moscardo, they will speak to both Corinthians and agents. Let’s see, the race is still open. Chelsea are not gonna bid for him. I really like Moscardo, he’s very talented; any club signing him will do smart piece of business,” he told the Daily Briefing.

This is a report that is backed up by Sport, who also claim that PSG are now in pole position to secure the Brazliian’s signature.

Barcelona’s hunt for a deep midfielder looks set to go on, and they may be forced into a similar approach they have taken over the past two summers. The Blaugrana signed Franck Kessie on a free and then Oriol Romeu for €3.4m this summer, hoping that both could provide a rotational option in the absence of Busquets, but as of yet, neither has made the cut for Xavi Hernandez. With finances set to be tight again, another free or low-cost transfer looks to be in the offing.