Barcelona may not use economic lever to sign midfielder in January – report

Barcelona manager, sporting director and president have all been clear that after signing Vitor Roque, a midfielder was their priority for the January transfer window. The glaring hole in their team, a player to sit in front of the defence could change their fortunes.

However it looks unlikely. MD note that the interest in Manchester City’s Kalvin Phillips is real, but unless City drop their demands for a loan significantly, then Barcelona will not be able to afford the deal, with or without their missing economic lever.

🚨 Kalvin Phillips would love to join Barcelona, but it's difficult. For it to happen, Manchester City should accept an advantageous loan and the player should also lower his salary. @ffpolo, @RogerTorello pic.twitter.com/Cg8zk3EoqX

— barcacentre (@barcacentre) January 20, 2024

Diario AS say Barcelona are still negotiating with two potential investors to take over Libero’s 9.8% stake in Barca Vision, and more importantly, pay the €40m they are owed for it. They recover information from MD, which also explains that Barcelona may not even use that money on signing a midfielder if it does come in, instead using it to register new contracts for Xavi and Alejandro Balde. All in all, it paints a dim picture for the Barcelona coach, who seems to have accepted that he will have no more reinforcements before the end of the transfer window.