Barcelona’s preferred option for the pivot position this summer appears to be Croatian midfielder Marcelo Brozovic, but the deal looks close to impossible.
Brozovic has held out on accepting an offer to head to Al Nassr and Saudi Arabia, reportedly giving Barcelona six days in order to work out a deal. The Croat appears keen to play for Barcelona, seemingly giving the green light to the club to attempt a deal.
However as per Sport, there will be no offer for Brozovic, at least as things stand. The deal that Al Nassr have agreed with Inter is in excess of €20m, and the Catalan daily say that Barcelona do not have the economic means to even get close to that currently.
🚨 A delegation from Al Nassr traveled to Croatia yesterday to try to convince Brozović. It was NOT successful. Some sources speak of a definitive 'no'. @giaco_iaco 🇭🇷 pic.twitter.com/1PR404uwP1
— barcacentre (@barcacentre) June 29, 2023
Part of the issue is likely the fact that in two days time, Barcelona’s loan players return to the side, bringing with them a wage bill of €51m.
The situation could of course change, and it looks as if Al Nassr are now trying to tempt Franck Kessie, a move that may give Barcelona the bandwidth to commit to a deal for Brozovic.
Yet if that deadline is true, then managing to pull off the exits of either the loan players or Kessie, and then work out a deal for Brozovic with Inter, seems highly improbable. It looks as if Xavi Hernandez and Barcelona must look at cheaper alternatives at the pivot position.
