Barcelona are reportedly on the verge of agreeing a deal which will see Paco Alcacer leave the Nou Camp to join Borussia Dortmund.
After joining the Catalan giants from Valencia in 2016, it hasn’t gone to plan for the 24-year-old as he has been limited to just 50 appearances in the last two seasons.
SEE MORE: Deadline touted for Barcelona star to seal exit, La Liga giants have idea of outcome
Given the competition for places alongside the likes of Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez in the final third, it was naturally always going to be difficult for the Spaniard to make his mark at the Nou Camp, but to his credit he did chip in with 15 goals in all competitions in those 50 outings.
However, it doesn’t appear as though he’ll get the opportunity to add to that tally, as Sport claim that he is closing in on a move to Dortmund with the transfer window still open for most of Europe until August 31.
Assuming his situation isn’t set to change under Ernesto Valverde, it’s the most sensible move from Alcacer’s perspective as he’ll now hope to earn a prominent role with the Bundesliga giants and play regularly to prove his worth.
From Barcelona’s point of view, it is perhaps a risk to an extent in terms of losing quality depth to ensure that they can compete on various fronts again this season, but given the world-class talent still at Valverde’s disposal, they’ll be confident that they’ll cope.
Nevertheless, should Alcacer seal an exit as now expected, that will be the eighth significant departure of the summer at Barcelona, with Paulinho, Lucas Digne, Aleix Vidal, Andres Iniesta, Yerry Mina, Andre Gomes and Gerard Deulofeu all leaving, as noted by Sport.
In turn, that would suggest that a squad trimming exercise has been underway this summer to perhaps keep the wage bill under control, although Barcelona have also been busy buying players too with Malcom, Clement Lenglet, Arthur and Arturo Vidal all arriving.