The battle for Yusuf Demir’s signature is in full swing. Several sources confirm Friday ESPN that a series of top clubs are behind Rapid Wien’s top talent. Barcelona seems to have the best papers for the arrival of the 17-year-old midfielder, who is also closely followed by Manchester City, Manchester United, Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund. There is already talk of a bidding war.
Demir, who celebrates his eighteenth birthday in June, has a contract with the superpower from Austria that will run for more than a year. Interested clubs will therefore have to come up with a transfer fee to pick the youngster away from Vienna. Demir made his debut in December 2019 in the main squad of Rapid Wien and more than a year later he has become a permanent fixture in the team of trainer Dietmar Kühbauer. The attacking midfielder has already made 23 appearances in the various competitions this season.
ESPN Expect, based on the information from some sources, that Rapid Wien will receive several offers for Demir after this season. The asking price is thought to be between five and fifteen million euros. Barcelona is considered a top favorite, especially because the scouting apparatus of the Spaniards has been intensively involved with the great talent for some time. A scouting report will shortly be presented to Chairman Joan Laporta, who will then determine whether Demir will be brought to Camp Nou.
The possible arrival of Demir fits in the plans of trainer Ronald Koeman, who does not shy away from throwing young players for the lions at Barcelona. The coach has already given playing time to Ansu Fati, Pedri, Ronald Araújo, Francisco Trincão and Ilaix Moriba this season. With an eye to the future, Demir would fit well with Barcelona, although it remains to be seen whether Koeman will still be ahead of the group after this season. In any case, there has been several contracts with the management of the attacking midfielder, it sounds.
The Austrian newspaper Krone Zeitung reported in December that in addition to Barcelona, Ajax was also in the market for the midfielder with Turkish roots. Emre Öztürk, Demir’s advocate, posted a striking photo to his Facebook page almost three months ago. The agent posted a mirror selfie with the Barcelona placeholder image. “Ready for a meeting,” Öztürk wrote. According to the Krone Zeitung was the agent at Barça to speak ‘exploratory’ about the future of Demir. Demir’s management is orienting itself and wanted to know what Barcelona’s future plans are with the Austrian, it was reported. However, Öztürk quickly denied that he was in Barcelona to discuss a deal for Demir.