Barcelona’s ongoing financial problems continue to be incredibly concerning in the offices of the Catalan giants. Work is being done to address this, although it has been slow progress in recent months – it means that drastic steps could be taken in next summer’s transfer window.
Reports earlier this week have suggested that Barcelona will look to make a major sale in 2024, similar to the case of Ousmane Dembele last summer. This would undoubtedly ease the club’s financial woes, and could also open the door for a sizeable amount of money being available for signings.
This major sale looks like being a defender, with the three candidates being Ronald Araujo, Jules Kounde and Andreas Christensen. All three have been integral for Xavi Hernandez over the last 12-15 months, but it also makes sense for one to be moved on next summer, especially given the news that Chadi Riad will return to Barcelona.
The big question will be who Barcelona should be selling next summer. Araujo is undoubtedly the player that they want to keep the most, but he is also the one that has attracted the most interest in recent weeks, with Bayern Munich pushing to sign the Uruguayan as early as January, although a deal then has been ruled out.
Still, reports have suggested that the German champions intend to go all out to sign Araujo, and are willing to pay nine figures in order to close a deal. This would make it very difficult for Barcelona to reject because of their financial woes, although there’s no doubt that they will do everything they can to keep him.
Christensen has been one of Barcelona’s most under-appreciated players since his arrival from Chelsea. His work often goes unnoticed, with Araujo and Kounde often receiving more credit – however, still could lead to him being the favourite to leave as the aforementioned duo are perhaps more appreciated. Furthermore, he joined as a free agent, so they would make significant profit if he was the one that was sold.
Kounde started the season in excellent form, but after picking up an injury in October, he has struggled. He wants to play as a centre-back, but has often been used on the right side of defence, where he has been inconsistent. Of the three players, he is arguably the one that should be sold as he does not Xavi’s system as well as Araujo and Christensen.
It will be interesting to see how this situation develops over the coming months. It feels inevitable that one of these three will be sold, although Kounde and Christensen are much more likely to be pushed out of the door by Barcelona than Araujo.
