La Liga giants Barcelona have fallen off the pace in the race for a highly-regarded up-and-coming defender.
That’s according to Mundo Deportivo, who point towards Jorthy Mokio – ‘one of the most promising players in Europe’ – as the player in question.
Mokio, for his part, is a 16-year-old defender, currently plying his trade in his home country of Belgium with KAA Gent.
Primarily a centre-half, the starlet, despite his tender years, has already taken to the pitch on a number of occasions for Gent’s senior side.
And his exploits have long begun to pique the attentions of the scouting department at the aforementioned Barca.
Mokio travelled to the Blaugrana’s Champions League meeting with Paris Saint-Germain back in April, during which first contacts were initiated between the entourage of the stopper, and the team of directors in Catalunya’s capital.
Sources in Spain, in turn, had since highlighted the Camp Nou as by far and away the stopper’s most likely landing spot.
As much comes ahead of the expiration of his terms with Gent at the end of the month.
As alluded to above, though, if the latest word to have come to the fore this weekend is anything to go by, then Barcelona, in fact, appear to have been overtaken in the Mokio sweepstakes.
As per the aforementioned MD:
‘Barca’s delicate financial situation’ means that ‘the options of Ajax and PSV Eindhoven have gained strength and in Belgium they see Mokio on his way to the Eredivisie’.
Final confirmation regarding the situation is expected to be forthcoming next week.
Conor Laird | GSFN
