As per Fabrizio Romano, FC Barcelona and Borussia Dortmund are interested in signing right-back Noussair Mazraoui on a free transfer. The Morocco international snubbed a contract extension with his current side Ajax and is set to leave his boyhood club next summer for free.
Reports elsewhere claim BVB are leading the race for Mazraoui and have already held talks with his agent Mino Raiola. Despite that, the right-back is not the club’s priority target; they are trying to get a deal for RB Salzburg’s Karim Adeyemi over the line first.
Meanwhile, Dortmund aren’t the only team interested in signing the Ajax man, who has attracted interest from Barcelona – along with some other top European clubs, including Arsenal and AS Roma.
César Azpilicueta has not taken the final decision regarding his future yet. Barça is likely to be his destination in case he decides to leave Chelsea. Noussair Mazraoui is also an option for Barcelona at right back.
— Barça Universal (@BarcaUniversal) February 10, 2022
— @mundodeportivo pic.twitter.com/fGAzttcTG3
Both Barcelona and Dortmund sides are stacked in the right-back position presently. As such, a move for Mazraoui could have a long-lasting domino effect on the futures of the players currently occupying the same position.
For Barcelona, both Sergi Roberto and Sergino Dest have played that part recently, but less so since the return of veteran Dani Alves – the Brazilian is back at his old club on a short-term contract.
Meanwhile, Thomas Meunier is the go-to option for Marco Rose at Dortmund, who also has Felix Passlack, Mateu Morey, and Marius Wolf at his disposal.
Should the move materialize, it would be Mazraoui’s first foray into Europe’s top five division. The Moroccan international was born in the Netherlands and spent the early years of his development at AVV Alphen and Alphense Boys before joining the Ajax academy in 2006.
He graduated from the academy and became a part of Jong Ajax side in 2016, and was promoted to the senior Ajax team in 2018, following which he would go on to make over 120 appearances across all competitions.
