Amidst earlier Everton and Leeds interest, Fabrizio Romano provides an update on the Barnsley top star.
This season, Fábio Jaló, a young prospect from Barnsley, has drawn interest from all across Europe.
Due to his impressive performances for Barnsley, an EFL League One team, this season, exciting Portuguese forward Fábio Jaló has garnered a lot of attention.
The attacker received media attention for his FA Cup goal against Horsham earlier in the season after cutting inside from the right just outside the box and hitting an incredible shot into the top left corner. The adolescent was born in Lisbon.
His first league goal came this past weekend when he netted the equalizer against Reading to rescue a point for his team in a 2-2 draw. He made his League One debut in October and assisted his first league goal against Reading in December.
Serie A and Premier League teams are interested in Barnsley’s Fabio Jalo
Teams in some of Europe’s top divisions have undoubtedly taken notice of the Portuguese young international’s ascent. During the summer transfer window, Fabrizio Romano said that Lecce, a Serie A team, had their bid for the small forward denied.
However, Barnsley negotiated a contract with Jaló to keep him at Oakwell Stadium until the conclusion of the 2026–2027 season, with the option for the club to extend it for another season, to fend off any prospective interest in their star player.
Barnsley legend and academy director Bobby Hassell issued the following statement in a press release after Fábio’s contract was extended: “We were eager to act quickly to secure Fábio’s long-term future at Barnsley because of the obvious talent he possesses and the potential we see in him at the Club.”
According to Fabrizio Romano, Jaló is still being actively scouted by a number of clubs despite signing a new deal. Italian clubs and unidentified Premier League teams are keeping a close eye on the wonderkid’s performances.
Due to his potential and the duration of his contract, any club interested in signing Jalo will have to pay Barnsley a substantial sum, since the South Yorkshire team will have the last say over his future.
Brighton, Leeds United, Everton, and Sunderland have all expressed interest in Fabio Jalo.
Premier League teams Everton, Brighton & Hove Albion, and Fulham were all aware of Jalo’s circumstances prior to him signing a new professional deal, and they were all interested in acquiring him for a low price during the January transfer window, according to TEAMtalk.
Jalo stays at Oakwell until at least the summer, after which it’s anybody’s guess as to what will happen in the transfer window for the versatile forward who has had an interesting transition into English football. They also confirmed that Championship clubs Leeds United and Sunderland were also interested in Jalo.
Before joining Barnsley’s academy in 2020 at the age of 14, Jaló began his career at his hometown club, record Portuguese title winners Benfica. There, he helped the youth team to their first-ever Professional Development League play-off appearance in the 2021–22 season, where he won the Academy Player of the Season award after scoring 27 goals in all competitions.
The following season, the Reds’ academy improved upon their performance by winning both the Northern PDL division and the playoffs. At the tender age of sixteen, Jaló made his first team debut in the EFL Cup, appearing in 13 minutes as a substitute in a 1-0 victory over Middlesbrough.
Two months later, on his debut appearance for Barnsley, Jalo scored his first goals as a professional. He scored twice in six minutes to put his team ahead 3-0 against Doncaster Rovers in the EFL Trophy group stages. The game ended in a 4-2 victory for Barnsley.
The striker has also played for Portugal’s under-18 and under-19 teams this season, giving him a taste of playing football on a global scale.
A month later, in a 3-0 victory over Northern Ireland’s under-19 team, he scored his first goal for his country in a 6-0 thumping of the Faroe Islands under-19 team.
This season, Jalo has continued to develop quickly through the ranks of the Tykes first team, and this might lead to a transfer to a side further up the English football pyramid.
