Arsenal’s Hector Bellerín and Manchester City’s Joao Cancelo are on Barcelona’s list to replace Nelson Semedo this summer.
That’s what Mundo Deportivo report today, stating that negotiations with either ‘will not be easy’ should they happen.
The newspaper explains that, at a summit with the club’s management on Wednesday, the player’s agent Jorge Mendes put an ‘attractive’ offer for the player to leave on the table.
Thus, despite having gotten close to a renewal, there is now no guarantee that the Portuguese full-back won’t leave this summer.
Should he do so Barça will need to find a replacement and the club have two players on their list to do so; Cancelo and Bellerín.
The Manchester City full-back has been ‘very popular’ with those in charge at Barcelona for a long time, who believe he would fit into the club’s ‘style’.
Indeed, they’ve already tried to sign him on two occasions, but there is a problem with the finances.
Manchester City will not ‘sell cheap’, nor are they interested in a swap deal with Cancelo as was suggested earlier in the summer.
Barcelona’s relationship with Manchester City is also slightly strained, with it explained that it is ‘not easy’ to negotiate with them after the ‘frustrated’ situation regarding Lionel Messi.
That could lead them to Arsenal’s Bellerín instead. He stands out because of his ‘Barcelona DNA’ and for ‘being an experienced player’.
Barcelona tried to sign him three years ago, and the player has a desire to make a return to the Nou Camp and could try to force the move, arguing that he’s been at Arsenal for eight years already.
The problem again, though, is finances. Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta likes his fellow Spaniard, and with three years left on his contract, the Gunners can ask for more than €30m for their man.
That’s a hefty price to pay, but a potential departure for Semedo could bring in enough to cover the cost, with everything seemingly depending on the Portuguese full-back.
