Barcelona will prioritise two summer targets including €100m star says Spanish football expert

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Barcelona have been tipped to focus their attention on Antoine Griezmann and Arthur in the summer transfer window by Guillem Balague.

The Catalan giants splashed out £142m to sign Philippe Coutinho from Liverpool in January, as per BBC Sport, but there will be more to come it seems to strengthen Ernesto Valverde’s squad.

Given that Barca currently sit 11 points clear at the top of the La Liga table and remain in the hunt for the Copa del Rey and Champions League, it’s questionable as to whether they really need to bring in reinforcements.

However, according to Sky Sports pundit and Spanish football expert Balague, he has revealed his belief that both Griezmann and Arthur will be the two names that they look to add to the group at the Nou Camp.

“Griezmann is definitely a target – €100m is what he will cost this summer,” he said in a Sky Sports Q&A. “Barcelona feels that Griezmann has been very positive about the possibility of joining Barcelona as well.”

After a slow start to the campaign, the 26-year-old has now bagged 11 goals and seven assists in 27 appearances in all competitions.

It’s obvious to see why Barcelona want him as he has emerged as a key figure for club and country in recent years, and pairing him with Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez could lead to a deadly attacking trident.

Meanwhile, with the likes of Sergio Busquets, Ivan Rakitic and Paulinho all turning 30 this year, long-term reinforcements may well be needed in midfield.

According to Balague, that could come courtesy of Arthur, with the 21-year-old impressing for Gremio and seemingly earning the opportunity to move to Spain in the near future.

“Barcelona need a midfielder,” Balague added. “The situation is that Arthur, Gremio and Barcelona are trying to find a fee that Gremio will be happy with. Barcelona are very optimistic that they can get him in the summer.”

Time will tell if Barca address these two issues, but as seen with the Coutinho signing with many envisaging him becoming a long-term replacement for Andres Iniesta along with Yerry Mina solving a long term problem in defence, the Catalan giants are doing a great job to this point of planning for their future.

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