FC Barcelona Are Trying To Force A List Of Difficult Player Exits This Week
by Tom Sanderson
FC Barcelona are trying to force a number of difficult player exits that could be finalized this week, if at all.
Besides Luis Suarez, who seems destined for Juventus in the coming days, there are members of the squad which haven’t impressed new head coach Ronald Koeman and could find themselves with new employers post haste.
Joining Suarez and the already-departed Ivan Rakitic as the big names the Dutchman told had become surplus to requirements, Arturo Vidal is likewise headed for Italy with a move to Inter Milan possibly announced as early as this afternoon.
With a year left to run on his current deal, the Chilean is set to forfeit €6.5mn he would be paid by Barça to be reunited with Antonio Conte at the San Siro.
Also in midfield, Rafinha could finally exit the Catalan club for good after a string of loan assignments. Like Vidal, he can walk for free next summer, leading Barça to try and profit around €15-16mn for their academy product.
His brother Thiago possibly switching to Liverpool, Rafinha apparently fancies the Premier League and could boost a growing Brazilian contingent across the city at Everton or a similar compatriot band at Arsenal while West Ham are also interested.
SPORT find it peculiar that another brasileiro, Matheus Fernandes, hasn’t been officially presented as a new player at the club. Simultaneously, his omission from the squad that faced Nastic on Saturday means Koeman doesn’t count on him just yet and the ex-Palmeiras star may be shipped out again on loan as previously seen when joining Real Valladolid temporarily earlier this year.
Samuel Umtiti was also instructed by Koeman to find a new club, yet with a deal until 2023, is acting stubborn and has no intention of going anywhere this minute. He could be used in a part exchange for Memphis Depay to return to boyhood outfit Olympique Lyon, but nobody seems sure that this could be pulled off.
It is believed that of these potential offloads, defender Jean-Clair Todibo has the most potential suitors including Wolves, Everton, Leicester City, Benfica and Marseille. In this market, however, the €20-25mn Barça want for him is an obstacle with themselves not wishing to pay such a fee for Manchester City’s Eric Garcia.
Lastly, Moussa Wague is not needed at right back given Koeman’s confidence in Nelson Semedo and Sergi Roberto. Nice already refused to exercise a €10mn right-to-buy option on the Senegalese at the end of last term, yet France is still thought of as his most likely final destination.