Premier League Giants Tried to Steal Spanish Wonderkids from Barcelona

A number of Barcelona starlets were tempted by some of the Premier League giants to leave La Masia during the last summer transfer window, reports in Spain claim.

La Masia is considered one of the best football academies in the World, having been a crucial factor in both Barcelona and Spain's recent success.

Spanish stars such as Xavi Hernandez, Andres Iniesta, Carles Puyol, Victor Valdes have all graduated from the Catalan youth ranks in recent years, with Argentine Lionel Messi the biggest name to emerge.

English clubs have been alerted to this phenomenon and a number of Spanish players such as Cesc Fabregas and Gerard Pique have been tempted to abandon the Barcelona youth system by Premier League money in the last decades.

Some days ago, reports in Spain claimed that Manchester United had approached teenager winger Adama Traore regarding a summer move to Old Trafford while Arsenal also tried to repeat the Fabregas story with the promising Sergi Samper, a midfielder considered to be Xavi Hernandez's long-term replacement.

Both Traore and Samper snubbed the Premier League giants even though the clubs offered to meet their £9.5m release clause, while Mundo Deportivo now claims the pair were not the only Barcelona youngsters tempted with a move to England.

The Catalan based-newspaper says Arsenal and Chelsea also approached Munir El Haddadi – who recently made his full international debut with Spain – while Liverpool contacted Alex Grimaldo, a 18-year-old left-back said to be the next Jordi Alba.

Brendan Rodgers is a huge fan of Spanish football and this summer bolstered both right-back and the left-back positions with Javier Manquillo and Alberto Moreno.

Meanwhile, the Merseyside club also completed the signing of 17-year-old midfielder Magder Antonio Gomes from Villarreal on deadline day to strengten the Reds' Under 21 and Under 18 sides.

Magder has joined join Spanish duo Sergi Canos and Pedro Chirivella, who last year swapped La Masia and Valencia respectively to move to the Liverpool academy.