Barcelona striker Rey Manaj is attracting interest from the Italian Serie A after he bagged a treble in a recently friendly match. The 24-year-old Albania striker scored three goals in the second half to lead the Catalan giants to a thumping victory over Nastic.
Manaj was in the Barcelona B team last season where he scored 12 times in 21 games. The Albania is considered to old for the B team and might not be able to hold his own in a star-studded Barcelona attack despite being a favourite of Barcelona great and club skipper Lionel Messi.
Apart from Italian team Sassuolo, clubs like Familicao in the lower league in Spain and La Liga outfit Cadiz have an interest in Manaj. He showed under former Barcelona B manager Garcia Pimientalast season that he knows how to put the ball in the net.
Barcelona officials believe that the best solution is for Manaj to leave the club on a permanent deal this summer rather than wait for another season in the B team if he’s not able to break into the first team. He already has the club’s support to leave if a good offer comes in for him and could have left for a team in Greece at the start of last season. Manaj stayed at Barcelona B for one more season and his value has increased during that time. Barcelona need all the money they can get at the moment due to their bleak financial situation and Manaj is almost certain to fetch them some money if he leaves this summer.