Barcelona president Laporta ‘in love’ with Sevilla winger Bryan Gil

Barcelona president Joan Laporta has made plenty of headlines since returning to the club and has already been linked with a host of players.

You can now add Sevilla winger Bryan Gil to the list with Deportes Cuatro reporting that Laporta is “in love” with the 20-year-old and wants to move for the youngster this summer.

Gil has impressed on loan at Eibar this season where he’s made 18 appearances, scoring three times and contributing two assists.

Laporta is keen to move for Gil quickly because he has a release clause of just €35 million which is expected to rise to a whopping €150m next year.

This is not the first time Barca have been linked with Gil. Former scout ‘Mani’ told Cadena Ser in February that he had spoken to sporting director Ramon Planes about Gil.

“Right now he is Spain’s best footballer and I compare him with Neymar. He can do certain things and has great versatility, as he can play at full-back in the middle or on the left wing. It’s impressive.

“I have spoken with Roman Planes about him and he has Bryan Gil in mind. If he is signed now then his release clause is 35m euros, but if he signs a new deal with Sevilla then he’ll have a release clause worth 150m.”

The rumor mill seems to have gone into overdrive since Laporta was elected with Gil one of several players now being linked with Barca. However, Barca remain in a tricky financial position which will make any signings difficult unless players can be offloaded first.