Barcelona are reportedly preparing for a crucial summer transfer window in which they’ve been tipped to spend heavily to strengthen their squad.
Although the Catalan giants are still very much involved in the La Liga title race, question marks have been raised about this team over the course of the season after a number of poor results.
With an ageing core too, the time will come for replacements to be drafted in, and according to AS, that process could start as early as this summer with four players linked with a move to the Nou Camp.
As per the report, two full-backs, a midfielder and playmaker will be targeted, and they’ve even offered names to fill those roles with Hector Bellerin, Theo Hernandez, Marco Verratti and Philippe Coutinho set to be targeted.
It’s claimed that Hernandez has a €24m release clause, while Arsenal value Bellerin at around €30m, and so the touted €100m transfer kitty is nowhere near enough to land all of their top targets.
In turn, Barca will have to sell and raise funds too, with Arda Turan and Jeremy Mathieu tipped to be the first players out of the door as they look set for an important rebuild ahead of next season.
Much will also depend on the will of the new coach, with Luis Enrique set to step down at the end of the campaign. While Barcelona have yet to confirm their next boss, he will have a major say in who arrives this summer but that is certainly an impressive collection of targets.
It will be far from easy to prise these individuals away from their current clubs, but Barca have identified the need to strengthen and it appears as though they’re going for quality over quantity this summer.