Levante has not wasted time. Just hours after Carlos Espí closed his move to Real Madrid for €25 million, the Orriols club has already identified and is close to finalising the footballer set to lead their attack in the coming seasons: Yanis Musuayi, one of the brightest prospects in Belgian football who, according to sport.es, also attracted Barcelona's interest in recent weeks.

A striker who impressed even Barcelona

At 19 years old and 1.90 metres tall, Musuayi is owned by Belgian club Club Brugge, though last season he developed his football at Club NXT, the club's reserve team. There he posted impressive numbers: seven goals and one assist in 28 matches in the Belgian Second Division.

But it was in the UEFA Youth League where the young striker truly exploded. His six goals in ten matches in the top continental youth competition were impossible to ignore. Particularly memorable was his performance in the quarter-finals against Atlético Madrid, where he scored twice, and his goal in the semi-finals against Benfica. Club Brugge reached the competition final, though ultimately lost on penalties to Real Madrid.

His progression was already on an international level: Musuayi is already part of Belgium's under-19 national team.

Barcelona came close, but not close enough

The Belgian's performance did not go unnoticed at Camp Nou. As sport.es explains, several members of Barcelona's scouting department, who travelled to Belgium to follow Jesse Bisiwu, returned with very positive reports on Musuayi. The Blaugrana manager took the opportunity to initiate contact and evaluate his contractual situation.

However, the deal never gained traction. The reason was strictly sporting: Musuayi prioritised finding a club that would guarantee him first-team minutes from the start. Barcelona's plan was to bring him to Barça Atlètic with options to enter Hansi Flick's setup, a proposal that did not satisfy the young striker's ambitions.

Levante offers what Barcelona could not

This is where Levante has spotted its opportunity. The Granota club offers Musuayi a far more favourable setting to make the definitive leap to professional football. The operation is valued at around two million euros, a very affordable price for a prospect who has proven his level in European competition.

Levante's sporting management believes Musuayi has all the ideal conditions to lead the generational change in their attack. His profile recalls that of Etta Eyong, a previous signing that bet on youth, projection and pure physical capacity.

A strategic move in the market

The loss of Espí forced Levante to act quickly, and the Granota's sporting management had been preparing this contingency plan for weeks. Now, all signs point to the Orriols club securing one of the great jewels of Belgian football.

What is curious is that Barcelona will continue to monitor Musuayi's development. The positive reports from their scouts and the growth shown at Club Brugge keep the Blaugrana club attentive to how the striker will perform in Spanish professional football. Sometimes a door that closes at Camp Nou opens elsewhere... but it never closes completely.