Spanish giants Barcelona sign Ajay Tavares from Norwich City

Spanish giants Barcelona have signed Norwich City academy prospect Ajay Tavares.

The 16-year-old had reportedly attracted interest from a number of European clubs and Norwich will be entitled to compensation, although the Canaries have not confirmed the financial aspects of the deal.

Tavares, who first joined Norwich at under-12 level, was sent on as a substitute in a first-team pre-season friendly against Dutch club Volendam last summer when only 15, but he has not appeared in a competitive fixture at senior level.

"Whilst we are incredibly sad to be losing a young academy player of Ajay's talent, our overriding sense is one of immense pride," said Norwich sporting director Ben Knapper.

"Ajay's progress has been a testament to the fantastic work of everyone connected with our academy, who have impacted his journey and contributed to this wonderful achievement... and we couldn't be prouder to see him take this step to one of the most iconic football clubs and academies in world football."

Tavares made his most recent appearance for Norwich's under-18 team against Chelsea at Colney on 31 January.

"On an international level, he has represented England at under-15, under-16 and under-17 levels, and we've no doubt he'll continue to make great steps for both club and country in the years to come," Knapper added.

He is not the first 16-year-old to be signed by Barcelona from English football.

In 2019, Louie Barry joined them from West Bromwich Albion, but he returned the following year when Aston Villa paid a fee of about 1m euros (£880,000) for the young forward.

That was a year after Barcelona signed 18-year-old Marcus McGuane from Arsenal, with the midfielder joining their B side.

McGuane returned to England in 2020 to sign for Nottingham Forest and has since played for Oxford United, Bristol City and Huddersfield Town.