One top Spanish player that was destined for the Premier League has been almost scuppered by interest from Catalan giants Barcelona. Atlético Madrid’s Koke is the subject of interest from Manchester United, Chelsea and Manchester City in a £44m deal which would almost certainly be subsidised by United’s Juan Mata and Man City’s Stevan Jovetic in respective deals.
However, Barcelona have pricked up their ears to this one and have certainly put a spanner in the works regarding any move to the EPL. The Catalan club are still under ban from FIFA until January 2016 but they haven’t been stopped from approaching future signings in a bid to butter them up for a move to the Nou Camp.
The three clubs would dearly love to bring the wanted Koke to the Premier League but would have a tough job convincing the 23 year-old midfielder to leave his native Spain.
Not only that, the lure of playing for one of the best clubs in the world in the same country such as Barcelona might be more than the young man can endure. I mean, who in their right mind would pass up an opportunity to play for Barça?
Luis Enrique knows that he will have to replace Barça legend Xavi Hernández with a world class player and Koke fits the bill. 35 year old Xavi has made 28 appearances in all competitions so far this season but the manager is fully aware that his replacement is a top priority.
