As Barcelona’s accountants work overtime to try and figure out what is and isn’t possible this summer, other major players are circling around their prized assets.
The one player they have no negotiating power with is Ousmane Dembele. The mercurial French winger is out of contract this summer and many seem resigned to losing him on a free, five years after making him their second most expensive player ever.
The common thought had been that Paris Saint-Germain were best-placed to sign him, but reports emerged that they were now no longer interested in him following a change of stewardship. Xavi Hernandez has done everything to keep him at the club and as such, that will have been a boost for his mini-project.
Yet Sport have revealed that another financial muscle with which Barcelona would struggle to compete are now in the game. Liverpool have been in contact with the player’s agent and are considering an attempt to take him to Anfield.
They also have their eye on another Blaugrana talent. Forecasted to a lynchpin of Barcelona’s midfield for the next decade, negotiations are ongoing for a new contract with Gavi. Those talks haven’t come to fruition yet and Liverpool are supposedly willing to pay his €50m release clause, also via Sport.
While the Dembele case seems unlikely that Barcelona will compromise on their stance, the Blaugrana would be unwise to risk losing Gavi. At 17-years-old, few if any players in the world have shown as much potential as he has.
