Manchester City and Brighton battle it out to sign one of ‘South America’s brightest young talents’

Barco looked set to join the Seagulls earlier this week, after reports emerged that the Sussex side were in negotiations with the 19-year-old, who was said to be keen on the move.

However, City have since offered to bid £8m for the left-back, which would activate the his release clause.

Barco joined Boca at ten-years-old, having been recruited by the same scout who first spotted the likes of Carlos Tevez and Juan Roman Riquelme, becoming the fourth-youngest player to ever debut for the club in 2021. He has since made 20 appearances and scored 2 goals for the Argentinian outfit.

The red-haired teenager is seen as one of South America’s brightest young talents, being included in The Guardian's "Next Generation" list for 2021 and having his progress monitored by the likes of City and Juventus.

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Albion will hope to complete the signing of Barco alongside Lille midfielder Carlos Baleba. The Seagulls see the 19-year-old as an ideal replacement for Moises Caicedo, who was sold to Chelsea for £115m.

Brighton’s opening bid of £14.5m plus £2.5m add-ons is likely to be rejected as the French club want at least £25 for the Cameroonian.

European Super Cup winners Manchester City are also likely to have a busy end to the transfer window. Pep Guardiola will hope to add West Ham midfielder Lucas Paquetá to his ranks, in a move likely to be worth £98m.

However, left-sided defender Aymeric Laporte is set to leave the Etihad Stadium, after the club accepted an offer from Al-Nassr for the Spanish defender.