BARCELONA
AZ Alkmaar youth player Mexx Meerdink declares that he wants to play for Barcelona in the future
The AZ Alkmaar youth star did not hide his football goals for the future: “The club I would like to play for? Barcelona”.
Remember the name of Mexx Meerdink. The UEFA Youth League champion and goalscorer for AZ Alkmaar, Meerdink has established himself as one of the shining lights of European football. The 19-year-old striker scored six goals in nine games on his way to becoming the top scorer in the competition. And with two goals in the final against Hajduk Split, his name has started to swirl around the mouths of the biggest clubs in the continent.
The Dutch forward spoke about his future with Alkmaar on the Dutch television show ‘Khalid&Sophie’, where he made his priorities clear: “The club I would like to play for? Barcelona”, he said, not hiding his desire to land in Spain. It has been said that Barça themselves are up for their side of the bargain, with the club already placing him high up on their shopping list.
At 19 years old, Meerdink has already made his Eredivisie debut with the AZ first team and has established himself as one of the top emerging talents in Europe. This season, the Dutch striker has played 29 games with AZ, in which he has contributed 17 goals and 2 assists in his 1,591 minutes on the pitch. Or what is the same, a goal every 94 minutes. The ‘kaaskoppen’, it seems, have a new pearl in their squad, although his time in the Netherlands could well have an expiration date.
FC Barcelona themselves are looking at various ways in which they can move this summer in terms of transfers, with Joan Laporta’s famous ‘levers’ all but used up. A player by the name of Lionel Messi is high on the Catalan agenda and a move for him would not come cheap. There have been links to a Messi museum, which could help fund the move, as well as a potential sale for Brazilian winger, Raphinha, who continues to look north and see flattering eyelashes from the Premier League’s monstrous money pit. While Meerdink would not cost the sun and earth, any form of bidding war between a better-placed European rival could spell the end of the line for Barça and their summer plans.
