Manchester United also tracking 18-year-old forward scouted by Barcelona

Barcelona have been linked with a number of young talents of late, as they look to steal a march on other European giants. Yet with agents well aware of the value of drumming up competition for their clients, the Catalan giants are often facing a battle for the signature of the best teenage players, as is the case for Juan Riquelme Angulo.

The Catalan side have recently been in negotiations for Club Brugge winger Jesse Bisiwu, but so far have been unable to convince the Belgian side to part with one of their best talents. In January, Barcelona also signed Patricio Pacifico, Juwensley Onstein and Hamza Abdelkarim in the January transfer window.

According to Diario AS, Barcelona are facing competition for the signature of Ecuadorian forward Angulo. The 18-year-old has six caps for Ecuador’s under-17 side (one goal) and has now made 10 senior appearances for Independiente del Valle, one of the most renowned academies in Latin America. In just 165 minutes, Angulo has managed to score twice in senior football.

In addition to the Blaugrana, Portuguese giants Sporting CP, Benfica and Porto are all keeping an eye on his progress, as are Manchester United. This season he has also received a call-up to the senior national team from Sebastian Beccacece.

Angulo’s size has drawn comparisons with Manchester City forward Erling Haaland. Despite his youthfulness, he already towers at 193cm (6 foot 3′), which he combines with a privileged technical ability in front of goal. He is also relatively quick for his size too.

Interestingly, Director of Football Deco recruited a similarly physical profile in Abdelkarim from Egypt to add to their youth ranks. The Blaugrana have an option to buy Abdelkarim at the end of this season for around €3m, which could rise to €5m.