Barcelona are reportedly planning a £130m splurge in the summer transfer market, and three names are emerging as their main targets.
The Catalan giants are set for a new era of sort as of next season with Ernesto Valverde replacing Luis Enrique, and following disappointment in the major competitions this year, new additions are expected.
According to AS, the La Liga outfit will focus on quality rather than quantity, with three new signings potentially totalling around £130m are being targeted.
The names on that shortlist are Marco Verratti, Hector Bellerin and Ousmane Dembele, which will address key issues with the current squad whether it be failing to bring in long-term solutions for players that have left the club in recent times or club icons who are coming towards the latter stages of their respective careers.
Right-back has been the standout problem area ever since Dani Alves left last summer, and so that will surely be a priority for Valverde as he can’t afford to follow in the footsteps of Enrique by trying to find makeshift and short-term fixes.
AS have gone one further by providing individual price-tags too for the three men in question, with Verratti being the most expensive at €80m, while Bellerin is expected to set them back €40m and Dembele will cost around €30m to set the potential budget at €150m.
However, it’s one thing being linked with these three players and another trying to prise them away from their respective clubs. All three have prominent roles and important places in the future of those three clubs, and so it may well either take hefty bids or pressure from the players to push through such deals.