FC Barcelona are on a roll. Hansi Flick’s team are tonight playing a key Champions League tie in the first leg of the last sixteen against Benfica. They go into the game in top form as the sole leaders of LaLiga with a three-point lead over Real Madrid. A position they achieved this weekend thanks to the slip-up by the Whites and their thrashing at home to Real Sociedad.
In barely a month, Barça have managed to put ten goals past Real Madrid in an express comeback to become sole leaders. Carlos Ancelotti’s team are going through a bad patch having lost at Cornellà (1-0) and against Real Betis, and drawing against Osasuna and Atlético de Madrid, while the azulgrana went full steam ahead with victories against Alavés (1-0), Sevilla (1-4), Rayo (1-0), Las Palmas (0-2) and Real Sociedad (4-0).
A Barça comeback based on goals. Barça have scored 124 goals in 40 matches. With a lot of the season still to play, FC Barcelona have already scored more goals than in the last five seasons. Although it is clear that scoring goals is not a problem for the culés, in the offices Deco is working on reinforcements to improve this area even more and to have a replacement in the squad for a Lewandowski who is in great shape but almost 37 years old.
The favorite is Isak
In the search for an attacking player who is up to scratch and who can be a reliable replacement for Robert Lewandowski, there is a clear favorite for the Catalans. The chosen one would be Alexander Isak, an old acquaintance of LaLiga. “There is a player that Barça’s sporting management is in love with, that Laporta and his entire board are in love with, and they believe he will be the icing on the cake for this great Barça squad. In addition to signing a central defender, they are going to reinforce some other positions and the main objective for the summer is Alexander Isak, Newcastle player,” they revealed on El Chiringuito.
However, it will not be an easy signing. Newcastle have set a prohibitive price for the Barça. Specifically, the English team has valued the footballer at 180 million euros. The idea is to let Alexander Isak go for €100 million this summer if they fail to qualify for the Champions League. A figure that is still very high for the team from Barcelona when there are also strong competitors in the Premier League.
Financial situation
And it’s not just in Isak’s case. Barça will have a serious problem signing players for another summer. The financial fair play of the Catalan team continues to be a headache. With LaLiga questioning the VIP boxes and the 1:1 rule in question, Barcelona will be forced to make important exits if it wants to compete for top players on the market.
In that sense, names like Ansu Fati, Pablo Torres or Andreas Christensen, who are not considered by coach Hansi Flick, are the main candidates to leave, but more important names are also being considered as a way of doing business. Ferran Torres or Fermín López have important suitors in the market and could either leave or serve as a bargaining chip to help close a deal.
Relebohile Mofokeng, a zero-cost gem
With this financial outlook, it is not surprising that the Barça board see every opportunity to sign a player at zero cost as a more than interesting option. In this sense, the option has arisen to get hold of a young gem whose contract ends this summer. Barça have set their sights on Relebohile Mofokeng. The 20-year-old winger could be signed ‘at zero cost’ by the Barça reserve team this summer.
“I don’t think they’re going to throw him in at the deep end without any preparation. They’ve seen something in him and they want to work on him now so that in two years’ time he’ll be ready for the first team,” former South African player Khumalo said in an interview. Mofokeng has scored 8 goals and made 11 assists in 31 games (2,630 minutes) with his club this season. The advantage with Relebohile Mofokeng is that he would come at ‘zero cost’, as his contract ends in June.