Gai Assulin: Barca’s ‘New Messi’ Wonderkid May Leave - Liverpool, Arsenal & Manchester United Alerted

The next exciting teen expected to emerge at the Camp Nou is the Israeli teenage winger Gai Assulin. The 18-year-old’s performances for the Barcelona B side has attracted the attention of numerous Premier League clubs including the big four of Manchester Utd, Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool. Reports in Spain suggest that the player’s application for a Spanish passport has stalled meaning he won’t be promoted to the first team squad and ultimately be forced to leave the club.

Reports suggest the youngster has grown increasingly frustrated at his lack of progression at Barca despite a season ravaged with injury. After all, various youngsters have made the step up to first team football in the past few seasons including Messi, Giovani, Busquets and Bojan. However, after already making his international debut for Israel at such a young age the number of potential suitors is continuing to grow with Italian giants AC Milan also reported to be keen.

Assulin began his career in his homeland in the Beitar Tubruk youth ranks before moving to Barcelona’s youth academy in 2003. In August 2007 the youngster graduated to the club’s B team and was offered a new contract when he turned 16. This included a €20M buy-out clause to scare off the various clubs who were showing an interest.

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The Israeli made his one and only first team appearance as a 16-year-old in Barcelona’s Copa Catalunya semi-final against Girona as a substitute in September 2007. He made his international debut a year later when he replaced Yossi Benayoun as a 78th minute substitute in a friendly v Chile. This debut made him the youngest ever full Israel international beating Chelsea’s Ben Sahar by 195 days.

If Assulin does move to the Premier League he will join the likes of Giovani Dos Santos, Gerard Pique, Fran Merida and Cesc Fabregas who have swapped the youth ranks of the Camp Nou for England.

He is considered by many to be one of the next young talented starlets to break into the Barca first team but if he does depart, there will be no shortage of suitors. The youngster has the look of Lionel Messi in the way he plays particularly his long hair and dribbling ability and will surely be a household name in the next few years.

So would you like your club to move for the latest Barca prodigy? Have you heard anything about him being linked to your club? Let’s hear your views.

Tags: Arsenal, Barcelona, Gai Assulin, Israel, Liverpool, Manchester United

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