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Barcelona has six names “on the table” of players the club is keen to bring in to strengthen the squad in the summer transfer window ahead of next season.
Borussia Dortmund striker Erling Haaland is at the top of the list and would be an expensive addition which means it’s no surprise to see the other five players are all free agents.
Defenders Eric Garcia and David Alaba are options along with Liverpool midfielder Georginio Wijnaldum and attackers Memphis Depay and Sergio Aguero, according to Juan Jimenez at AS.
The report also states that Barcelona’s tricky financial state means the club will have to ask their current stars for a fresh pay-cut to be able to afford to bring in new players.
Barca players announced in March 2020 they would take a 70 percent pay cut to help the club during the coronavirus pandemic. It remains to be seen how a fresh round of reductions would go down in the dressing room.
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Can Barca Afford Haaland?
News of Barca’s interest in Haaland is not new, and the Catalan giants will certainly not be the only club keen to bring in a player who has scored 37 goals in 35 appearances for club and country so far in 2020-21.
Yet supporters will rightly wonder how the club could afford to land a player who will reportedly cost a fee of €150 million ($178m).
Former interim president Carles Tusquets has told Cadena SER how the club could pull off such a mega-transfer.
“The first of these factors is to reduce the wage bill, which is currently approaching 90% and the UEFA recommendation is to be less than 70%,” he explained. “Other functions that the club should perform would be to sell players, rejuvenate the squad and carry out Barça Corporate operations.”
Barcelona reportedly has six players the club is ready to sell to make room for Haaland, including big names such as Philippe Coutinho and Antoine Griezmann.
However, the club may find it difficult to offload players this summer because clubs across Europe face reduced incomes due to the coronavirus pandemic and also because of huge amortization costs, according to Marca.
Garcia Deal Close?
One transfer that looks a lot easier to do and is expected to go through is the return of center-back Eric Garcia from Manchester City. The defender came through the ranks at Barca but has spent the last four years with the Premier League side.
Garcia is out of contract in the summer and a return to Barcelona could now be finalized “in the coming days” with new president Joan Laporta ready to sign off on the youngster’s contract, as reported by Catalunya Radio.
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola said at the start of the month that Garcia is set to return to his former club, as reported by Goal. “He’s going to play in Barcelona and that is not an average player – he is a top player,” he said. “He was not selected in the last two games and it broke my heart.”
Garcia will be another center-back option for Koeman along with Gerard Pique, Oscar Mingueza, Ronald Araujo, and Clement Lenglet, while Samuel Umtiti is also available but has been heavily linked with an exit throughout the season.
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