Barcelona close to reaching agreement with midfielder

Xavi has been keen for the club to tie down key young players to new deals before the summer

Barcelona are finally making progress in their efforts to tie down teenage sensation Gavi to a new deal. The Catalan club has been in talks with the midfielder's agents for a number of months, but progress has been slow owing to the demands made by the player's representatives.

The 17-year-old broke into the first-team this season and has become a mainstay under Xavi. Gavi has made 47 appearances in all competitions this season, scoring two goals and assisting six. The young midfielder is highly rated at the Camp Nou and the club is keen to tie him down to a long-term deal.

Barcelona's lack of progress had alerted a number of clubs across Europe, with Liverpool among those that are keen to sign Gavi in the summer. However, the midfielder wants to remain with his boyhood club and is hoping to sign a new deal sooner rather than later.

According to Italian transfer expert Fabrizio Romano, Barcelona held fresh talks with Gavi's agent Iván de la Peña on Monday and negotiations are underway. The new deal is expected to be until the summer of 2027 with just the final details left to be ironed out between the club and the player.

Gavi currently has a release clause of €50 million, but that will change when the midfielder signs his new deal in the coming days. Similar to Pedri and Ansu Fati, the teenager will also have a €1 billion exit clause in his contract until 2027.

Gavi's new contract with Barcelona will be valid until June 2027, current release clause [€50m] to be removed as Barça want to include €1b clause like they did with Pedri & Ansu. Same plan since December," Romano wrote. "Matter of time, waiting for new final contacts."

Xavi has been keen to tie down key young players to new deals before the end of the season. However, one player the manager is keen to hold onto - Ousmane Dembele - looks likely to leave the club when his contract expires in June.

The Frenchman was put up for sale in January, but generated no interest owing to his contract situation. Barcelona opened fresh talks in a bid to keep him at the Camp Nou, but he seems destined to leave the club on a free transfer with the like of Bayern Munich and Juventus waiting in the wings.