FC Barcelona’s Transfer Policy For The Upcoming Summer Market

FC Barcelona’s transfer policy for the upcoming summer market has been revealed.

According to SPORT, the Blaugrana will again focus on landing as many free players they can at zero cost, with the club’s two record signings – Philippe Coutinho and Antoine Griezmann – hopefully staying whey they are on loan at Aston Villa and Atletico Madrid respectively.

Barca are of course linked to both Erling Haaland and Robert Lewandowski at present, as despite the excellent form of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang – who joined on a free from Arsenal in winter – it is felt that Xavi Hernandez’s sporting revolution still requires a number ‘9’ for the upcoming 2022/2023 season.

While Haaland will cost over $300mn all in when his release clause at Borussia Dortmund, salary and agent commissions have been factored in, 33-year-old Lewandowski is said to be three times cheaper.

Either one of these operations will be a push for an outfit in around $1.5bn’s worth of debt, though. But Barca can look to the success of signings such as Aubameyang, Memphis Depay and Eric Garcia as evidence that good players can be obtained without paying a single penny to their former club.

To this end, it is said that the Blaugrana have already secured Franck Kessie for the midfield from AC Milan and Andreas Christensen from Chelsea to join after June 30, though the troubles the latter Danish international had against Vinicius Jr in a 3-1 Champions League quarter-final first leg defeat to Real Madrid on Wednesday will hardly enthuse Culers for future Clasicos.

Staying in Stamford Bridge, negotiations have also been held with the team’s captain Cesar Azpilicueta and Antonio Rudiger. Though both are center backs, ‘Azpi’ can slot in at right back too to rival Sergino Dest and Dani Alves for minutes while Rudiger would be a high-level partner for either Ronald Araujo or Garcia depending on how much longer an aging Gerard Pique sticks around.

Simultaneously, the fact that Araujo’s contract extension is about to be confirmed in the coming days coupled with Rudiger’s supposed demands of €12mn ($13mn) per year mean that the German international has priced himself out of a potential move.

Across Europe’s top five leagues, other interesting free agents as things stand include Kylian Mbappe, Paul Pogba and Paulo Dybala.