It has already been a busy start to the summer for Barcelona. Mikayil Faye and Ilkay Gundogan have already been signed, and with the transfer market now open for business, there is expected to be further incomings.
Inigo Martinez’s move from Athletic Club is expected to be confirmed in the very near future, while a deal for Vitor Roque could be finalised over the next couple of weeks.
However, Barcelona are yet to address two gaping areas: pivot and right back. Signing the former is essential following Sergio Busquets’ departure at the end of last season, while the latter is less of a priority, but is still likely to be needed.
Barcelona’s poor financial situation has meant that they will have limited funds available to use this summer, meaning that they will have to look to be smart with their money, which arguably hasn’t been a strong point in recent years.
Given their position, signing Oriol Romeu should be absolutely necessary. The 31-year-old is available for just €5m, which is his release clause at Girona, and in the circumstances, Barcelona are unlikely to bring in a better player for as little as that.
Romeu, who is the club’s chief pivot target at the moment, is a very good footballer. Admittedly, he is not an attractive name to Barcelona fans, but ultimately, beggars can’t be choosers, so the club needs to look at signing sensible, economical options.
While Barcelona could go short-term in the pivot position, they should he looking long-term at right back, and one player in particular: Ivan Fresneda. The 18-year-old had a fine breakthrough season at Real Valladolid, although he was unable to stop them from avoiding relegation.
La Pucela’s relegation means that Fresneda, who wants to join Barcelona, is available for €20m this summer, although Barcelona are hopeful of reducing this fee during negotiations.
Fresneda would be an excellent signing for Barcelona, as he can initially rotate with Jules Kounde/Sergi Roberto during the final season or two at the club, before becoming the first-choice right back for many years to come.
Finally, Arda Guler has been heavily linked with a move to Barcelona in recent weeks, and the teenager has agreed a deal in principle to join the LaLiga champions. However, their financial situation is likely to mean that a deal is not possible this summer, which is unsuitable for the 18-year-old.
Guler can definitely be described as a generational talent, he’s that good. He’s been likened to Lionel Messi, due to their similar playstyles, and if Barcelona can pull the deal off, it would be a major coup.
They will likely have to pay some funds to Fenerbahce this summer, even if Guler does not join until 2024. This could cause problems, depending on the amount of money they have to spend this summer.
If they have enough available to do all three deals, then that would be a very good window for Barcelona, on top of the deals that they have already done. However, if they only have enough for two, Romeu and Guler should be the priorities, even though Fresneda would be a fantastic addition.
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If they can only get two players it should be Romeu and Ivan. These are key positions. We made similar efforts to get Torre and Xavi ended up not trusting him