Getty Rey Manaj celebrates scoring for Barcelona.
Barcelona are busy working on player exits before the start of the 2022-23 La Liga season and are thought to be close to agreeing a deal for another attacker who has been deemed surplus to requirements.
The Catalan giants are in “advanced” talks with La Liga side Getafe over a move for 25-year-old Rey Manaj, as reported by Gianluca Di Marzio. Getafe are “pushing hard” for the transfer of Manaj who spent last season on loan at Italian side Spezia.
Manaj has since returned to Barcelona, where he has a contract until 2023, but looks set to move again. Premier League side Watford are also keeping tabs on the situation and could move if the Getafe deal breaks down.
The attacker scored 16 goals in 31 games in the 2020-21 season for Barcelona B and then impressed in pre-season last summer with the first team, scoring an impressive hat-trick in a friendly against Nastic.
However, Barca opted to send him out on loan rather than keep him with the first-team squad. Manaj scored five times in 30 league games for Spezia, who decided against activating the €2.7 million purchase clause in his contract.
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Barcelona Needing a Striker?
If Manaj does leave he will be the third striker to depart the Camp Nou this summer. Young forward Ferran Jutgla has been sold to Club Brugge, while Luuk de Jong’s season-long loan from Sevilla has expired.
Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski has emerged as Barcelona’s top attacking target this season but the Catalan giants are struggling to do a deal with the Bundesliga champions.
Barcelona had made a new offer of €40 million plus €5m in add-ons for the 33-year-old which has been turned down by the Bavarian giants, as reported by Bild. Bayern will only consider selling Lewandowski for a minimum fee of €50m.
The Catalans now have a tough decision to make regarding Lewandowski. The striker has made it clear he is keen to leave Bayern and move to Barcelona, but the club will not want to overspend on a player who turns 34 in August and will be available on a free transfer in 2023.
Barcelona Confirm Income Boost
Barcelona’s chances of signing Lewandowski have been boosted by news that the club has received a significant income boost. The Catalans have agreed a deal with investment firm Sixth Street to sell 10% of their La Liga television rights for €207.5 million.
The deal means Barca will end the financial year “with a slight profit rather than losses for the third successive year,” as reported by ESPN. Barca also hope to sell a stake in Barca Licensing and Merchandising (BLM) which the club estimates could bring in another €250m.
La Liga president Javier Tebas has spoken about Barcelona’s financial situation and believes the club would be in a position to sign Lewandowski if both deals go through, as reported by Yahoo Sports.
“I hope that the [economic] levers Laporta has activated will allow the player to make it to Barcelona, because he is a legend of Bayern Munich and European football,” he said. “If they execute what they approved in the assemblies, he will be able to play for Barcelona. There is interest and if they execute those levers then they will be able to sign him.”
Lewandowski has already stated publicly on several occasions he believes his career at Bayern is over despite the fact he has a year remaining on his current deal. Barca appears to be his preferred destination but agreeing a deal with Bayern is not proving easy.
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