Madrid and Barça to duke it out for Portuguese wonderkid

Real Madrid and Barcelona are to enter into a transfer tug-of-war over Porto full back Diogo Dalot. The 17-year-old has already been compared to Cristiano Ronaldo due to his power and speed and in Portugal people are already wondering what could be if he decides to switch his position to the wing.

Dalot being fast-tracked

Dalot plays in Porto’s youth ranks and is being fast tracked by his club and country. Last year he played in the under-17 European Championship in spring and a few months later was included in the squad for the under-19 tournament. In the under-17 final Dalot scored against Spain as Portugal went on to win the title on penalties.

Madrid have been tracking the youngster and have already made inquiries with his representatives as they seek to add to their stock of promising young talents that includes Marco Asensio, already in the first team squad, Martin Odegaard, Federico Valverde and Sergio Díaz.

However, Barcelona are also keen on the player and have lodged an initial bid of 10 million euros with Porto, AS understands. But Porto are after considerably more for Dalot, who already has a release clause of 20 million euros in his contract. Real do have a potent bait on their rod though in the shape of Ronaldo, who is Dalot’s idol.

Spain coach Julen Lopetegui first spotted Dalot’s potential while he was in charge at Porto, often drafting the then 16-year-old into first team training. Porto are in need of funds with the club 135 million euros in debt and will look to cash in on their young star.

Deportivo v Barcelona live | LaLiga Santander

Real Madrid vs Real Betis live stream | LaLiga