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In what could be a huge step in the right direction, FC Barcelona sporting director Deco has seemingly sealed an agreement in principle with Turkish sensation Arda Guler, reports Gerard Romero.

The 18-year-old Fenerbahce wonderkid has become one of the most coveted young talents in Europe and Barcelona are gunning for his signature.

Having held talks with his club and the player’s camp this week, the La Liga champions have become optimistic about their chances of signing Guler.

In fact, some reports suggest that they could seal an agreement for the transfer next week, although the youngster might have to spend the next season at Fenerbahce.

Now, it appears that Deco has secured an agreement in principle with the player over a possible transfer to Barcelona.

An attacking midfielder with a wand of a left foot, Guler is regarded as a generational talent and has top clubs like Barça, Real Madrid, AC Milan, and Arsenal gunning for his signing.

But, Deco’s trip to Turkey earlier this week might have tilted the balance in favour of the Catalan heavyweights, with Romero reporting that the former midfielder might have already closed an agreement with the teenage sensation.

As far as his arrival is concerned, most reports have been suggesting that Barça plan to bring him in next season due to their current financial situation.

However, Romero reported last night that there was increasing optimism that the Blaugrana might rope Guler in this summer itself.

The 18-year-old has a €17.5 million release clause in his contract with Fenerbahce and his wages are not expected to be very high either.

But his arrival would still be subject to the Financial Fair Play situation and it remains to be seen whether Guler does make his way to Barcelona this summer or in 2024. As things stand, though, the Catalans appear to be closing in on acquiring his services.

Barcelona were able to reunite former Borussia Dortmund teammates Robert Lewandowski and Ilkay Gundogan this summer. But another ex-Dortmund star, who might have liked to be a part of this reunion is Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

The Gabonese international, who is set to leave Chelsea this summer, has been batting for a return to Camp Nou for a long time. In a recent interview, he reflected on his time at Barça, and praised some of his old teammates at the club.

Talking about his short six-month stint in Catalonia, Aubameyang said (h/t FCB World): “It was special, every time the fans were singing my song.”

When asked to name his favourite moment with the club, he replied: “The 4-0 win over Real Madrid.”

Aubameyang indeed had a fond spell at Barcelona. Despite being a part of the team for a little over six months, the forward scored 13 goals in 24 league appearances. He was rather unfortunate to be offloaded by the club last summer.

The Gabonese international, though, has no resentment toward the club. In fact, he harbours massive respect for some of his old teammates, including Ousmane Dembele.

When asked to choose between Dembele and Kylian Mbappe, the forward chose Dembele, adding, “Dembele is my favourite player, and he is my friend.”

Aubameyang heaped praise on yet another former Dortmund teammate in Lewandowski. “I love him. He is a player who has taught me a lot,” he said.

The former Dortmund starlet went on to praise Barcelona’s young trio Gavi, Ronald Araujo and Pedri. “Pedri and Gavi are sensational players,” he said. “Toughest opponent I’ve ever faced? Araujo, but he was my teammate.”

Aubameyang’s comments are the latest indication of his desire to return to Barcelona. Unfortunately for both parties, a return might not be a possibility anymore, as the Catalans continue to focus on the pursuit of Vitor Roque ahead of the new season.

Barcelona will kick off their pre-season campaign in a little over a week, from July 10. And, according to a fresh report from Gabriel Sans of Mundo Deportivo, manager Xavi Hernandez wants the club to complete the signing of Oriol Romeu before that.

After ruling out moves for Martin Zubimendi, Joshua Kimmich, and Marcelo Brozovic, Barcelona have settled on Romeu as their option to fill the pivot position left vacant by Sergio Busquets’ departure.

The 31-year-old is a player familiar with the club’s system and philosophy, having come through the ranks at La Masia.

Having returned to Spain after over ten years in the Premier League, Romeu enjoyed a solid season with Girona in 2022/23. The 31-year-old is a player with great defensive abilities and is fairly reliable on the ball as well.

While he would not necessarily be the tailor-made Busquets’ replacement Barcelona were looking for, Romeu’s experience, familiarity and the €10 million release clause make him a viable option for the club.

There had been talks of Girona being open to further reducing his asking price if a player was included in the deal. But, as per latest claims, the Catalan side are upset with Barça’s flirtations with their midfielder and will demand the release clause be paid in full.

Barcelona boss Xavi is understood to be keen on bringing Romeu on board and that too before the pre-season starts.

It is understandable given that the manager would want the midfielder to have all the time he needs to adapt to his new team and teammates so that he can hit the ground running as soon as the season starts.

It is now up to Barcelona to tie up the deal and deliver Romeu’s signing for Xavi after landing Ilkay Gundogan and Inigo Martinez, with the latter’s signing likely to be made official tomorrow.

Barcelona’s precarious economic situation is no new headliner. The Catalans have their hands tied up on the financial front, and it comes as no surprise that they continue struggling to make big offers on the transfer market.

After completing the signing of Ilkay Gundogan and reportedly Inigo Martinez, the Blaugranas now face a direct need to sell players. After all, they can only send proposals to potential targets if they have an inflow of funds to show.

Frank Kessie is the clear favourite to depart on that front. Barcelona have received an offer from Saudi Arabia for the Ivory Coast international, and Javi Miguel reveals that the player is tempted by it.

If Kessie’s move to Al Ahli comes to fruition, the Catalans will immediately activate the option to sign Marcelo Brozovic. The Inter Milan star ironically also has an offer from the middle-east but has placed it on hold to evaluate Barcelona’s interest.

The Nerazzurri have agreed a deal worth €23 million for the Croatian International with Al Nassr. And the fee is reasonable for a player who still has at least three quality years on his feet.

The pressure is now on the offices at Spotify Camp Nou to match that offer, for any delay in presenting a proposal could end with Brozovic committing his future to Al-Nassr.

Given the gravity of the situation, rapid developments are expected surrounding Kessie’s sale in the coming days. After all, the player knows that he will not have minutes next season after Ilkay Gundogan’s arrival.

Reports yesterday stated that Al Ahli were willing to shell out €20 million for the Barcelona star, and it remains to be seen if the Blaugrana stand their ground in asking for a higher fee of around €30 million.

Kessie made 28 La Liga appearances for the eventual champions last season, scoring one goal and providing one assist in that duration.

There has been not much significant movement on the transfers front at FC Barcelona apart from the signing of Ilkay Gundogan. But the club are planning to make some major moves in the coming days and weeks.

Indeed, according to Gerard Romero, as of today, Barcelona plan to make a total of four signings in the summer window while also offloading six players. And they have informed the same to La Liga.

The four players that the Catalans intend to sign are – Gundogan, Inigo Martinez, Vitor Roque, and a pivot midfielder.

As mentioned earlier, Gundogan has already arrived at the club earlier this week. Meanwhile, An agreement is understood to be in place to sign Martinez for free, although an official announcement will only be made after his contract with Athletic Club expires on June 30.

As for Roque, a €45 million agreement has been reached with Athletico Paranaense while the player will be penning a six-year contract until 2029. But there is still no confirmation of that deal either and doubts continue to remain about his registration, which could see the young striker’s arrival get postponed.

Finally, the pivot position continues to pose a challenge for Barça, but they are making some progress in their pursuit of Marcelo Brozovic. However, they have just six days to make an offer for the Croatian who is also being courted by Al Nassr.

As far as the exits are concerned, Barcelona have had little to no success thus far, with the club failing in their attempts to get rid of players.

As Romero mentions, the Catalans intend to offload six stars this summer, with Javi Miguel of AS then revealing the names of those who the La Liga champions wish to offload.

Unsurprisingly, the list features returning loanees Clement Lenglet, Samuel Umtiti, Alex Collado, Sergino Dest, and Nico Gonzalez. And the final name is that of midfielder Franck Kessie.

Even though the likes of Ferran Torres and Ansu Fati have been linked with exits, they are reluctant to leave. As such, their departures cannot be guaranteed which is why their names might not have been mentioned by the club to La Liga.

Either way, only time will tell how many of these operations that the Blaugrana can complete before the window slams shut and whether there will be room for more signings than the four being mentioned for now.

Barcelona are desperate to sell off some players this summer in order to lower their salary mass and generate some much-needed revenue. However, their efforts to do so have proved futile thus far.

One of the players for whom offers will be studied this summer is misfiring forward Ferran Torres. It has been reported that selling the 23-year-old Spaniard is a priority for the La Liga champions this summer and that they will seek a fee of €40 million for him.

Now, Gerard Romero reports that Torres already has received offers from the Premier League. However, the attacker is reluctant to leave the club, which has blocked the exit.

Torres signed for Barcelona during the January transfer window of 2022, arriving from Manchester City in a deal worth €55 million plus add-ons.

However, 18 months later it is safe to say that the investment has not paid off in the way that manager Xavi Hernandez would have imagined.

The Spanish attacker has been largely inconsistent during his time at Barça and is no longer a regular in the team either, with Raphinha, Robert Lewandowski, and Ousmane Dembele ahead of him in the pecking order.

Should Vitor Roque arrive, Torres could further slide down the order of preference. Given his disappointing displays, declining importance, and the need to reduce wages, the Catalans are keen on selling the former Valencia ace, along with fellow attacker Ansu Fati.

Newcastle United are said to be interested in Torres and would be willing to offer the €40 million sum that Barcelona seek.

Now, Romero is claiming that Torres already has proposals to return to the Premier League. But the Spaniard remains firm on his stance of not wanting to leave the club, compounding Barcelona’s problems in the transfer market.

Unless there are one or two big sales, the Blaugrana will find it difficult to sign and register new players which could end up hampering their transfer plans for the rest of the summer.

In light of Barcelona’s strained financial situation, an array of options are being considered to alleviate the monetary problems.

According to Mundo Deportivo, the latest formula being taken into consideration refers to the operation involving their former youth prospect, Mika Marmol.

After transferring the player last year to FC Andorra last summer, owned by the legendary Gerard Pique, the defender showcased a string of strong performances, with many Spanish teams now showing interest in the player.

The Blaugrana retained 50% of the centre-back’s rights and reserved a €1 million repurchase option. And they are now considering re-signing him by activating that clause before selling him off to newly-promoted La Liga side Las Palmas.

The Canary Islands outfit have entered the race for Marmol’s signature following the player’s upward trajectory, with manager Garcia Pimienta giving the green light to a move. But Barça now plan to take advantage of the situation.

Due to the signing of Pedri from Las Palmas in 2019, the Blaugrana have a debt worth around €5 million to settle with them.

Barcelona are considering buying back the center-back for €1 million, selling him to Las Palmas to settle a part of the debt that they owe the newly-promoted club.

Las Palmas manager Pimienta is familiar with Marmol, having worked with him at Barça Atletic. Owing to Pimienta’s experience with the player, he is keen on acquiring the left-footed centre-back’s services.

Barcelona can exploit this interest and reduce the financial obligations they must still face in regard to Pedri’s deal. However, the window for repurchase closes in July.

With departures hard to come by, creative solutions like these will surely take some burden off the hierarchy, as little as the impact may be.

It is safe to assume that Ansu Fati is making life difficult for Barcelona. At this moment, the Blaugrana board is keenly working on achieving Financial Fair Play margin and for that, high-profile player exits are of absolute necessity.

In this context, the likes of Ferran Torres and Ansu Fati are understood to be Barcelona’s main bets to be offloaded but as it turns out, none of the players are willing to move at the moment.

In fact, journalist Alfredo Martinez via La Porteria claims that the young forward is very convinced of staying at Barça to the extent that he was ready to part ways with his representative, Jorge Mendes, because he was told that he had to leave the club.

Over the last few weeks, reports have emerged that there had been some tension growing between Fati and Jorge Mendes. The reason is the latter’s desire to take his client away from Barcelona.

The super agent was believed to be of the idea that the youngster should pursue better options, but Fati insists on staying. Furthermore, it is even said that in order to continue at Barcelona, Fati has rejected several advancements from clubs like Wolverhampton Wanderers.

As such, Mendes seems to have relented in his efforts to convince Fati to leave.

“Ansu wants to stay. He wants to stay. He has scored three goals in his last games. What else do you want? He is a phenomenon. One of the best young players in the world,” he told the press recently.

At the moment, nothing is concrete except the fact that the 20-year-old wants to continue at Barcelona and for that very reason, he is not speaking to other clubs.

In a hypothetical situation, if the 20-year-old accepts to move, his transfer will be pretty much straightforward as Barcelona would demand a standard fee and his full salary would come off the wage bill. But for this to happen, everyone must be on the same page.

Despite the departures of ageing stars like Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba, Barcelona are still facing a major financial crisis and are not in a position to pursue top players in the transfer market.

In order to mitigate the crisis, the club desperately need to reduce the salary mass, which could involve the sale of star players, reports Achraf Ben Ayad. He claims Barcelona must sell rapidly in order to balance their books.

The Catalans are well aware of the situation and have been trying hard to get rid of unwanted stars. And, as per the report, the sale of midfield mainstay Frenkie de Jong is not entirely ruled out if a ‘special’ offer were to arrive.

The 26-year-old has aroused interest from Bayern Munich lately, with Thomas Tuchel keen on his services.

The sale of de Jong seemed unthinkable heading into the summer, as the Dutchman has been one of the club’s top players this past season. His consistency performances were crucial for Barcelona as they secured the league title.

With Busquets leaving, de Jong’s presence seemed even more vital for the season ahead. However, it appears Barça could be open to considering an exit for the former Ajax starlet.

The Blaugrana, though, are facing an age-old problem. None of their star players are keen on leaving Camp Nou.

It must be mentioned that joining Barcelona is a dream for many footballers on the planet. This is why the likes of Raphinha, Ansu Fati and Ferran Torres have shown no desire to leave Camp Nou this summer, despite pressure from the board.

One would expect even de Jong, whose market value is €75 million, to remain at the club, especially given the way he resisted a departure last time out. With that in mind, it will be interesting to see how things transpire in the coming weeks.

After what seemed an endless wait, Barcelona finally announced the signing of Ilkay Gundogan earlier today. The arrival of the treble-winning captain on a free transfer will go down as one of the window’s best deals, and perhaps a historical one for the club itself.

Along with the announcement of his signing, however, comes the question surrounding the number he will don at the Blaugrana. After all, there are not too many kit numbers left in Xavi Hernandez’s squad.

As it stands, there are seven numbers for the German maestro to choose from.

Neither the No. 8 jersey which he wore with Manchester City, nor the No. 21 that he dons with the German national team is available.

With the chances of Pedri or Frenkie de Jong forfeiting their numbers highly unlikely, Gundogan will have to settle for a new number that he has never worn before. The options left on the table are 2, 3, 5, 12, 14, 16, and 18.

While it appears that the midfielder is spoilt for choice, a more pragmatic look would reveal that his choices are, in fact, limited. After all, No.s 2 and 3 are usually associated with defenders.

In that sense, the No. 5 kit recently vacated by Barcelona legend Sergio Busquets stands out. After all, it is only fitting that a captain’s shoes be filled by another treble-winning captain.

Gundogan will not be the one to wear the armband for Barcelona next season. Yet, with his experience and quality, he will undoubtedly be one of the leaders on the field over the next few years. In that sense, the No. 5 for Gundogan may be a match made in heaven.

Of other options, the No. 18 also stands out as a jersey with a rich history. After all, it was only recently vacated by one of the club’s best left-backs, Jordi Alba.