After Hamza Abdel Karim…a new giant on Barcelona’s radar

Reports in the British newspaper have revealed that Barcelona are keeping a close eye on the American defender as part of the club’s policy of seeking young talent in the summer transfer market.

According to Britain’s Daily Mail, Barca are targeting the promising Neil Pierre (18), who is around two meters tall, after he was loaned to Danish club Lyngby in recent months, where he was a key element in the team’s promotion to the first division.

Barcelona’s interest in the player comes amid ongoing negotiations between the Catalan club and Lyngby regarding the loan of American goalkeeper Diego Cochin.

Pierre holds dual American and Haitian citizenship and graduated from Philadelphia Union Academy just 20 minutes before playing in the NBA. Internationally, he represented the United States in the youth ranks before moving to the Haitian U-19 national team, where he played for Cochin.

The magazine describes Pierre as a right-sided defender who is still developing and stands out for his physicality and great length, in addition to his ability to build play and participate in the attack.

The player is represented by Nordic Sky, the same agency that negotiated the transfer of Sweden’s Lukas Bergvall to Barcelona.

Pierre has the advantage of adapting quickly to European football after his experience in Denmark, making him an attractive option for Barcelona’s scouting department, led by Joao Amaral, who have stepped up their efforts in recent months to look for reasonably priced players with high potential.

The interest in Pierre is linked to a series of moves in Barcelona’s youth market last winter, which included four players in Patricio Pacifico, Gwensley Unstein, Ajayi Tavares and Hamza Abdel Karim… while the latter was the most prominent name when he booked a place in Egypt’s U11 squad after the World Cup.

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The move coincides with a period of major changes in Barcelona’s reserves, with defender Alvaro Cortes starting pre-season with the first team and Pacifico missing part of the season through injury, Alex Campos ending the season in coach Giuliano Belletti’s side and Alexis Olmedo failing to cement his place in the starting line-up.