18-year-old South American jewel monitored by Barcelona is now close to joining Olympique Lyonnais | OneFootball

South America has always been a source of world-class footballing talent, and FC Barcelona have taken a lot of advantage of this source throughout their history. Some of their biggest legends, including Lionel Messi and Ronaldinho, hailed from this part of the world.

The Catalans continue to keep a close eye on the talent developing in South America, and their latest big bet on such talent came in the form of their investment in Vitor Roque.

But there are several other youngsters being monitored by the Blaugrana club. According to SPORT, one such player, Rayan, who currently plays for the Brazilian side Vasco da Gama, is close to moving to Europe with a transfer to Olympique Lyonnais.

The French side has presented a firm offer of €14 million for the winger, and some other outstanding matters between the owner of Lyonnais, the American tycoon John Textor, and Vasco da Gama can facilitate this move.

For their part, Barcelona have long been keeping an eye on the forward, who has a very impressive physique, standing at 1.85 meters, and who can play well on both the wings as well as in the center.

The Blaugranes even made an offer of €1 million for him in 2022, which was rejected by the Brazilian club. Deco, who was an external advisor for Joan Laporta and had not formally joined Barcelona at that time, led the negotiations with Vasco da Gama.

Now, Rayan is an integral part of this Vasco da Gama side, having played 32 official games, in which he has scored 5 goals and provided 1 assist.

But despite their interest, several factors have kept Barcelona from making a more committed move for the Brazilian winger. Firstly, their limited FFP margin has kept them from making their desired moves in the market.

Secondly, the emergence of Lamine Yamal and the presence of Raphinha have also discouraged them from getting another young player who might not complement these players, as was the case with Estevao Willian.