Manchester United could repeat Gerard Pique transfer trick as club 'eye' Barcelona wonderkid

Manchester United are keeping an eye on Barcelona's young star Pau Cubarsi, who manager Xavi thinks could be the 'next Gerard Pique' - according to reports.

Cubarsi played his first game for Barca just four days before his 17th birthday in January and has been doing really well for the LaLiga outfit. He helped them win 3-0 against Atletico Madrid on Sunday, which was their fourth game without letting a goal in out of five games. Cubarsi has started all these games.

Reports claim Xavi has told people close to him that he thinks Cubarsi could take over from Pique, who retired in 2022 after winning lots of trophies in his 14 seasons at Camp Nou. Pique also used to play for United when he was younger.

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Lots of Premier League clubs, including United, have noticed how quickly Cubarsi has become an important part of Barca's defence, reports the Mirror.

Sport, a news outlet based in Catalonia, says that United, as well as Manchester City, Arsenal and Chelsea, are watching the 17-year-old. Barcelona want to keep him and are planning to offer him a new long-term contract.

Cubarsi's current contract, which has a release clause of just 10million (£8.5m), runs until 2026, but bosses want to extend that by four years and put in a huge £1billion buyout clause.

However, there's a legal hurdle for the Premier League teams, as Brexit rules mean they can't sign him until he's 18. New United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe is keen on signing a new centre-back, with The Mirror also recently reporting that the Red Devils are considering