Barcelona To Veto Any January Move For Munir El Haddadi

Despite starting seven of Barcelona’s first eight matches in La Liga, Munir El Haddadi has failed to feature in four of his side’s past five league fixtures. His last appearance was during La Blaugrana’s 2-1 victory over Almeria on November 8th; he started the match but was ultimately substituted at halftime.

The 19-year-old forward’s debut season with Barcelona had been positive, but once Luis Suarez became eligible following his FIFA imposed suspension, Munir has seen his time with the first team cut drastically.

Those who are familiar with the club expected Munir’s playing time to be significantly reduced once Suarez returned from his ban. But it now appears that the starlet is being linked with a loan move to a host of European clubs during the upcoming January transfer window.

The British tabloid The Daily Mail is reporting that West Ham and Swansea City have already made enquiries to Barcelona regarding the Spain international’s availability. It is also believed that Arsenal have shown an interest in the young forward.

While the Spanish publication AS states that Ajax is monitoring the events at the Camp Nou and are hoping to convince the Spanish giants to sanction a loan move for the remainder of the season. Speculation is the two clubs may have held preliminary discussions during their last match during the Champions League group stages.

Munir is widely regarded as one of the best young talents in European football, and it can be expected that more clubs will be mentioned with his name in the coming weeks should he continue to stay on the fringes of Luis Enrique’s squad.

But Barcelona have already stated that they will veto any move for the young starlet.

Enrique concedes that Suarez, Messi and Neymar are his first-choices for Barcelona’s front three. But the manager also emphasizes the importance of Pedro, Munir and Sandro to his squad.

“They’re doing well,” Enrique said on his current front three. “Leo [Messi] and Neymar have played together for a season and Luis is just coming in, I think they’re great. There’s a lot of time left to see them together and to see how they’re adapting, not only them, but the other forwards as well. We can’t forget Pedro, Munir and Sandro.”

It is understood that the manager will feature Munir during the Copa del Rey and feels the 19-year-old can learn more from playing with Messi, Neymar and Suarez every day in training than he could anywhere else. The starlet also provides insurance should one of the three players go down to injury or suspension.