Barcelona will reportedly oversee a major overhaul of their squad this summer with up to nine players said to be on the axing block.
The Catalan giants have continued to compete for major honours in recent years, but big changes could be coming to the Nou Camp this summer.
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Despite successfully defending their La Liga crown, they suffered two major red marks against their campaign this past year after crashing out of the Champions League following their capitulation at Liverpool, while they suffered defeat in the Copa del Rey final.
Coupled with the manner in which they exited Europe the year before at Roma, question marks have been raised over the squad and coach Ernesto Valverde for seemingly not learning their lesson.
Nevertheless, as reported by The Sun, via the paper edition of Mundo Deportivo, that could now spark major changes to the squad with up to nine players said to be at risk of facing the axe.
Further, those individuals aren’t just bit-part squad players, as it’s suggested that Philippe Coutinho, Ivan Rakitic, Samuel Umtiti, Malcom, Andre Gomes, Denis Suarez, Rafinha, Marc Cucurella and Jasper Cillessen are all in line to move on which in turn could raise around £266m from their transfer fees.
Man Utd, Chelsea, Arsenal and Tottenham are named as interested parties in several of them, and so if Barcelona are set to oversee an overhaul of the squad, these Premier League giants could be in line to benefit and will surely be keeping a close eye on how things develop at the Nou Camp in the coming weeks.
Chelsea will of course have to overturn their transfer ban to have any say in these possible transfer scraps, while Ole Gunnar Solskjaer could be set for a busy summer as he looks to ensure Man Utd bounce back from their underwhelming and trophyless campaign.
It’s suggested Chelsea could be eyeing a move for Coutinho with the Telegraph noting Eden Hazard could be on his way to Real Madrid, while United have their eyes on Rakitic and Cillessen.
Arsenal are in the same boat after missing out on the Champions League, while Spurs will hope that a win over Liverpool in Madrid on Saturday night makes them an even more attractive option for top players.
In turn, time will tell who leaves Barcelona firstly, and which clubs then swoop to try and bolster their own squad ahead of next season.
