Barcelona Reportedly Weighing Up Move for Atletico Madrid Midfielder Saul Niguez

Barcelona are reportedly interested in Atletico Madrid's Saul Niguez.

According to Mundo Deportivo's Xavier Munoz (h/t MailOnline's Jordan Seward), the club have long admired the midfielder and secured a right of first refusal on him as part of the deal they struck when selling David Villa to Atletico in 2013.

Their interest has been reignited by the 23-year-old's showings for the Spain national team, though it's said he has a buyout clause totalling £134 million (€150.5 million).

The story made the newspaper's cover on Thursday, per Sport Witness:

Saul has been a key player for Atletico over the last four years, and as Scouted Football's Jake Entwistle noted, it's easy to forget he's still only 23 given his impressive skill set:

He's a combative presence in front of the back four—he's not afraid to put his foot in and make a tackle or intercept a pass to break up opposition attacks—and he also looks to get on the ball and make use of his strong distribution or wriggle past players with a dribble.

If that weren't enough, he likes to get forward and chip in with goals, and he has a penchant for the spectacular when it comes to finding the net.

He scored in Spain's 2-1 win over England and 6-0 win over Croatia during the international break in what were just his second and third starts for his country.

Squawka's Muhammad Butt lauded his showing in the latter match:

He has the tools to be an excellent signing for virtually any side, Barcelona included.

It will be extremely difficult to prise him away from Atletico, though. Not only would he cost a nine-figure sum, he also has eight years left on his contract at the Wanda Metropolitano after he signed a nine-year deal in 2017.

Given that level of commitment to Los Rojiblancos, even the Blaugrana might struggle to tempt him into leaving.