Protecting La Masia talent from poaching has become an increasingly urgent priority for FC Barcelona, and the departure of players such as Marc Guiu and Dro Fernández to rival clubs has only sharpened that focus. The Blaugranes are now moving to ensure that one of their most exciting young prospects does not slip through the net in the same manner.
As SPORT has reported, Barcelona plan to double the release clause of 16-year-old Ebrima Tunkara from €10m to €20m by registering him with Barça Atlètic next summer. The clause increase is directly tied to that promotion – once the Catalan club formalises his status with the subsidiary side, the new figure comes into effect, giving the Blaugranes a far more meaningful buffer against any clubs looking to activate his buyout.
At 16 years of age, Tunkara is considered among the very best prospects currently progressing through La Masia, even if his name remains unfamiliar beyond dedicated academy followers. The Gambian-born forward has already featured for both Barça Atlètic and the U19s, an unusually advanced trajectory for a player his age, and his development has drawn considerable internal praise from the club’s coaching staff. His rise has been swift enough that Barcelona’s broader approach to managing academy progressions carefully is now being applied directly to him.
The timing of the clause revision is no coincidence. Tunkara has been one of the standout performers for Spain at the ongoing U17 European Championship, and his displays have attracted the attention of multiple clubs across Europe. Specific suitors have not been named, but the level of monitoring reported by SPORT is consistent with the kind of Premier League interest that has previously unsettled Barcelona’s academy pipeline – most notably in the cases of Guiu and Fernández.
This move fits squarely within the Catalan club’s evolving approach to La Masia contracts, which has shifted towards dynamic clause structures tied to sporting milestones rather than flat figures. Hansi Flick is also expected to call upon Tunkara during pre-season, with many first-team regulars unavailable due to participation at the 2026 World Cup – an opportunity that underlines just how seriously the Blaugrana side view his potential.
Hopefully, the combination of a strengthened release clause and meaningful first-team exposure will keep Tunkara on course for what looks like a very promising future at Camp Nou.