signing players this month. “There are players that have left
who have not been replaced,” Luis Enrique said at the start
of January, suggesting that he felt the squad needed adding
to. However, his stance has changed. “I’m not at all
concerned by the lack of signings,” he said more recently,
perhaps influenced by Munir El Haddadi’s goalscoring start
to the new calendar year.
For that reason, there’s no hurry - at least publicly - to
acknowledge a need for reinforcements. The club realise
that any signs of urgency or necessity would serve as a
weakness as they continue to negotiate with Celta Vigo for
the Galician club’s star player, Nolito Agudo. Celta continue
to stand strong and maintain that Barca will have to pay the
forward’s €18 million release clause if they want to lure him
away from Balaidos.
The Catalan club, though, are not contemplating paying that
fee this month due to financial restrictions. Instead, they are
hopeful of completing a loan deal until the end of the
season, with the option to then finalise a permanent transfer
in the summer. To make this offer more attractive, Barca
would include one of Munir or Sandro Ramirez, although B
team players Sergi Samper and Gerard Gumbau could also
prove interesting options for Eduardo Berizzo’s side.
However, it’s a proposal which Celta, until this point, have
rejected. They continue to demand the release clause or
nothing - not a loan deal, especially one without an
obligatory option to buy in the summer. Barca are sitting
tight, well aware of the rapid adaptation Arda Turan and
Aleix Vidal have made to the team and therefore not in a
rush.
Nolito, meanwhile, knows this could be the last chance he
gets to play at Camp Nou on the home team. Barcelona
know the player’s feelings and hope he will do his part in
forcing through a deal which remains in exactly the same
position as it did last summer: Barca pay the clause, or
Nolito stays in Vigo.
No comments:
Post a Comment