Stoke City are showing interest in Barcelona B team captain Sergi Palencia with club scouts making frequent checks on the 21-year-old right-back over the past 18 months.
He made his first team debut in October against Espanyol in the Spanish Super Cup and impressed despite playing out of position at left-back.
This summer will bring Palencia into the final year of his current contract, which has a buyout clause set at £10.3m.
Barcelona head coach Luis Enrique rated Palencia highly enough to include him in his 30-man Champions League squad last September but Sergi Roberto's emergence as an option at right-back has halted his progress to the first-team.