This looks set to be a difficult and frustrating transfer window for many clubs, with the coronavirus crisis crippling their finances and throwing their best laid plans into disarray.
The richer teams should be able to cope better, but when you were planning multiple moves of tens of millions of Euros, disruptions like this are enormous. Delicate moves involving multiple players, teams and large contracts suddenly seem far riskier.
Perhaps, then, it should be no surprise to read in AS today that Barcelona’s plans for this summer are proving difficult to enact.
Firstly, their big money pursuit of Lautaro Martinez is running aground, with Inter Milan stubbornly demanding the full €111m buyout fee for ther striker – at least for now.
Then their other operation – getting rid of Arthur Melo in exchange for a more experienced midfielder like Miralem Pjanic – is also encountering difficulties. The Brazilian has said he doesn’t want to leave, and while the Blaugrana could probably force him out, they don’t want to resort to that just yet.
There’s a long way to go before the summer – Barcelona have a title to win after all – but when we get there it sounds like it’s going to be all out war trying to get these deals done.
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