Barcelona boss Xavi is still in the market for a new midfielder ahead of the upcoming campaign and a Tottenham star is on his radar should the Catalan club fail to bring him Man City’s Bernardo Silva.
The Barca legend has already seen Ilkay Gundogan arrive on a free transfer following an impressive campaign at Man City last season but one of his teammates, Bernardo Silva, remains the Barcelona manager’s number one target for the remainder of the transfer window.
The Portuguese star has a contract at City until 2025 and being a crucial part to Pep Guardiola’s team, the Premier League champions want around £75m to allow him to leave the Etihad.
Considering Barcelona’s crippling financial issues, this is an impossible deal for the La Liga giants to complete and therefore, the Catalan club could make a move for Xavi’s second option, who is currently at Tottenham.
According to Mundo Deportivo, Giovani Lo Celso is an option for Xavi having spent the last two seasons in Spain at Villarreal. The Barcelona coach is believed to like the Argentina international and would be happy to include the Tottenham star in his midfield trio.
The 27-year-old has a contract at Spurs until 2025, therefore, Barca would needed to pay a fee, which is a problem once again for the Spanish giants.
It is uncertain whether new Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou wants to keep the Argentinian star, but it is hard to see a move to Barcelona for the midfielder as money will likely be a problem for the Catalan giants.
Barcas financial problems, self inflicted as they are, cannot become our problem. Locelso is a quality player, on a long term contract. If they do not make a decent offer, they cannot plead poverty and they should be told to go away. Don’t forget they won’t let us have Lenglet on a free even with a weekly wage if around £145000.
“Lenglet on a free” is only for beggars.