Barcelona is still reeling from the blow of missing out on the exciting signing of Nico Williams for yet another summer. The club’s financial situation has once again prevented it from being competitive in the transfer market, leaving it without its desired signing. Work is already underway to find other options for the left winger, who was and remains the Barça’s top priority in the transfer market. Luis Díaz remains the favorite, while Rashford gains ground and the option of Rafael Leao, who already has a price tag, resurfaces.
Nico Williams’ NO opens the casting
For a couple of summers now, Barça has had on its agenda the need to improve its attack with the signing of a winger who can compete and take some of the pressure off the men up front. In this regard, the favorite both last summer and this summer has been Nico Williams. An agreement with the player seemed close, but the Athletic player wanted guarantees beyond the club’s word on his registration, asking for a release clause, which was refused by Barça, who were not willing to make a large investment with the risk of losing him. That refusal led the player to decide to renew with Athletic.
Following the player’s refusal, two old targets have returned to the fore: Luis Díaz and Marcus Rashford. In the case of the former, there are several problems in signing him. On the one hand, Liverpool’s refusal to let him leave, especially after the sad death of Diogo Jota. In addition, there is also the player’s price tag, which amounts to at least €70 million, a complicated amount for the Catalan club.
It would be easier to sign the English player, whom Manchester United wants to offload. He is priced at €40 million, and the English club could also be willing to consider a loan deal. For the time being, they have removed the player from the team so that he can decide on his future. The winger has made it clear on multiple occasions that he wants to join Barça and that he would be willing to take a pay cut.
Leao is once again an option and has a price
In recent months, other names have emerged, but problems with fair play and the rise of names such as Luis Díaz and Nico Williams have left options by the wayside, as seemed to be the case with Rafael Leao. Now, given the situation, he is back in the frame. He has reappeared on Barça’s agenda, according to Sport, as he is very much to Laporta’s liking.
The problem for Barça with regard to signing the player was the money, as the deal could run up to €75-80 million, an amount that is unaffordable for the Catalan club. His current club, Milan, is not willing to let him go and is therefore not open to negotiating that amount. The aforementioned media outlet suggests that the “not for sale” tag could always be negotiable with a good offer from Barcelona, which could be around €70 million. Once again, this would be a risky move for a team that is not yet under the 1:1 debt ratio and has not made room in its wage bill to sign the player.