Saturday’s edition of Catalan newspaper Sport has five players on their front page, with the claim they’re all close to signing for Barcelona.
Those players are Robert Lewandowski, Franck Kessie, Andreas Christensen, Marcos Alonso and César Azpilicueta. Inside, Leeds United’s Raphinha is also thrown into the mix.
It’s explained the Brazilian is a ‘priority’ signing for Barcelona and the club will move for him once they finally find out what is happening with Ousmane Dembele, who has had the Blaugrana on strings for over a year.
There’s a ‘conviction’ at the Camp Nou they will sign the Leeds United player, with him considered the only replacement being considered for Dembele. There’s no explanation given for that conviction and no detailing of how Barcelona can realistically pay for all these signings.
Christensen and Kessie will be arriving as free agents, and it’s hoped Alonso and Azpilicueta will be low cost. However, Bayern Munich won’t let Lewandowski go too cheaply, and it’s stated Xavi Hernandez is also keen on Sevilla’s Jules Kounde, who will cost around €60m.
Raphinha surely wouldn’t be hugely cheaper, plus there’s the wages of all these players to consider. Multiple outgoings will be needed to make Barcelona’s ambitious plans possible.
