Marca have an article in their Friday edition on Barcelona’s pursuit of Marco Verratti. The PSG midfielder has spent the summer seemingly flirting with a move, but his French club aren’t minded to sell.
There’s been talk of him not turning up to training to try and force a move, but that path looks unlikely right now, and it’s also questionable whether Barcelona would even pay the fee PSG require.
That leads Marca to alternatives, with Paulinho coming out top, and he’s joined by others including Manchester United’s Ander Herrera and Southampton’s Oriol Romeu.
Herrera is considered unlikely because it’s thought Manchester United would simply refuse to sell, regardless of the player having only a year left on his contract.
Romeu would provide ‘muscle and stability’ and is obviously mentioned largely because of his La Masia history. However, a move for the Southampton player looks just as unlikely as for Herrera.
The idea of Barcelona signing Verratti was getting a very high quality recruit, one of the best there is, rather than simply adding to the squad. That idea falls to pieces for some of the other options mentioned.
