Nigerian under-17 right-back Yahaya Lawali has reportedly attracted the attention of some elite European teams, including FC Barcelona.
Lawali’s efforts in four games stood out despite Nigeria’s heartbreaking exit from the U-17 AFCON in Algeria as a result of a 2-1 loss to Burkina Faso in the quarterfinals.
The 16-year-old showed his skill and adaptability against Zambia and Morocco to win Man-of-The-Match awards.
Lawali is a sought-after prospect for these teams because of his versatility, which includes the capacity to play as a right-back, left-back, central midfielder, and winger.
Olaoluwa Aro, Director of Media and Publicity, Player Solution Agency, which represents Lawali, claims that clubs were interested in him after he provided three assists to earn a spot in the Team of The Tournament during the WAFU B regional U-17 qualifying tournament, which Nigeria won.
Despite the nation’s exit from the quarterfinals, Lawali was the only Nigerian to make the CAF Best XI for the group stage.
“Yahaya did very well at the tournament and has attracted a lot of interest. The latest among the clubs to have shown interest in him are Barcelona,” Aro said as quoted by Punch.
“Before the start of the AFCON, we received offers from some top European clubs but we were in no rush. Recently, Barcelona and Sevilla have also shown interest in him.
“Yahaya is one of the rare talents in Mahanaim FC and we are gratified to say he made us proud despite how the Golden Eaglets exited the AFCON U-17. Having three assists in four games at the WAFU tourney in Ghana and the back-to-back Man-of-The-Match awards at the AFCON shows how consistent Yahaya is. We would look at the offers diligently as the suitors come forward; however, we shall work with clubs whose proposal is by the agency’s laid down interest for Yahaya’s potential developmentally”
