Barcelona seemingly have a transfer strategy in mind, and it all starts with the potential exit of a January signing this summer.
The Catalan giants enjoyed a successful season last year, winning the La Liga title and Copa del Rey. Although their Champions League exit was a red mark on the season, it was a solid start for Ernesto Valverde in his first year in charge.
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In order to build on that though, they’ll be eyeing ways to strengthen the squad, and that may well involve axing a player first to open up a non-EU spot to wrap up a deal for one of their top targets.
It’s claimed by Mundo Deportivo that because Barcelona have currently filled their three-man non-EU quota, they’re pushing to sell Yerry Mina in order to open the door to sign Arthur in a €39m deal from Gremio, while they will then sign Sevilla ace Clement Lenglet to fill that void in defence.
In truth, that seems to be a very sensible strategy that could solve several problems in the current team.
Perhaps slightly premature given he only made six appearances after his January arrival at the Nou Camp, Mina did struggle to show signs that he was successfully adapting to the Barcelona style of play and his new environment.
With that in mind, he would be the obvious sacrifice to help land Arthur, with midfield reinforcements needed given Andres Iniesta bid an emotional farewell to Barcelona at the end of last season while key figures such as Sergio Busquets, Paulinho and Ivan Rakitic are all approaching or are on the wrong side of 30.
Should Mina be sold, a new defender will be absolutely necessary to offer quality depth and competition for Samuel Umtiti and Gerard Pique, and Lenglet certainly proved he’s capable of offering that with his performances for Sevilla last season.
Importantly, this entire strategy seemingly revolves around Mina’s exit. In turn, it remains to be seen if a suitable offer is forthcoming in order to have a knock-on effect and free up Barcelona’s transfer plans this summer.