Barcelona are hoping to finally be within their salary limit next summer, and thus have a little more freedom to add to their squad. This summer the Blaugrana brought in Dani Olmo and Pau Victor, but could not do any more business. Already the Blaugrana are looking ahead to next summer though, with three positions in mind.
According to Sport, a top-quality left-winger is the position that they could spend big on. Rafael Leao of AC Milan, Nico Williams of Athletic Club and Napoli’s Khvicha Kvararskhelia are all potential options they are eyeing. They believe they will be in a position to make a big signing if they want to without needing major sales next summer if they desire.
Sporting Director Deco also wants to add more depth in the full-back areas, with youngsters Hector Fort and Gerard Martin the only competition for Jules Kounde and Alejandro Balde as things stand. The idea is to bring in two players with bright futures, although the left-back position could see a more established signing to compete with Balde.
The Blaugrana have informed themselves of the situation of Alphonso Davies, who is out of contract next summer, but is expected to join rivals Real Madrid. He is demanding a €10m per annum salary, a sum Barcelona are not willing to pay. Benfica’s Alvaro Carreras and Wolves’ Hugo Bueno are options being evaluated, while Marc Pubill was considered for the right-back spot this past summer.
As things stand, it will be difficult to regard this as anything other than a hypothetical. The Barcelona hierarchy have promised to be able to sign freely and spend big in the last two summers, but on both occasions have been forced to make deals they did not plan on in order to register their new players. This past summer, Ilkay Gundogan fell victim to that transfer policy, and only injuries to Ronald Araujo and Andreas Christensen helped them register Olmo.