Barcelona preparing for whirlwind end to summer transfer window
Barcelona are still keen to sign a new winger before the summer transfer window closes and are preparing for a chaotic few days to try and get a deal over the line, 90min understands.
The Catalan giants have made no secret of their pursuit of Athletic Club winger Nico Williams and president Joan Laporta continues to dream of a wing pairing of Williams and Lamine Yamal, but such a move is highly unlikely and Barcelona switched their focus to signing Dani Olmo earlier this summer when it became clear a move was not financially feasible.
Sources have confirmed to 90min that Barcelona have not yet given up hope of signing a new winger before Friday’s transfer deadline, but they face a whirlwind few days trying to finalise an agreement.
Barcelona need to raise money before being able to finance a new signing and, while a player sale cannot be ruled out, Laporta is currently searching for commercial opportunities to raise money away from the pitch.
Finding such an agreement in the next few days will be difficult, however, and no new signings can be made if Barcelona cannot find fresh funds one way or another.
With Williams expected to remain with Athletic Club unless a Premier League side make an audacious late move, Barcelona have been exploring alternative targets and have discussed pursuing Federico Chiesa of Juventus.
The Italian has been publicly made available for transfer and would be open to joining Barcelona but, as things stand, a deal is not possible and things would have to change dramatically for progress to be made. No formal offer has been submitted to Juventus, who recently met with Liverpool to discuss a possible switch to England’s top flight. A move to Anfield is looking more likely at this stage with nothing advanced with Barcelona.
Barcelona have also spoken to Bayern Munich about Kingsley Coman, but the Bundesliga outfit have knocked back a loan proposal which also included the option to make the move permanent next summer.
Coman has also received a significant offer from Saudi Arabia, further complicating Barcelona’s attempts to raise the funds needed to get a deal done. Al Hilal are pushing for his signature and Bayern are happy to sell to the Saudi Pro League champions. A deal now hinges on whether Coman is prepared to move to Saudi.
As for Barcelona, any new signing would also require a sale to create the required space in the wage budget, and the club are prepared to consider all options available to them heading into the final days of the summer window.