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According to Alfredo Martinez on SPORT, Sergio Busquets could be moving closer to leaving Barcelona come the end of the season.

The midfielder has been linked with a move to Inter Miami, who in turn, are confident of signing the player as he nears the expiry of his contract with Barcelona.

The MLS giants have made the necessary reservations to sign the Barcelona star, who has been identified as the ideal man to become the face of the club.

Inter Miami, partly owned by footballing icon David Beckham, have lured in many top-class individuals since its inception. The club were recently home to former Argentine striker Gonzalo Higuain and French international Blaise Matuidi.

As per the report, Inter Miami have started preparing for the season ahead. As part of their plans to reduce the salary budget for the squad, they are expected to sanction the exit of Mexican attacking midfielder Rodolfo Pizarro.

The 28-year-old has been with Inter Miami for two years now, but he spent the entirety of 2022 on loan at Mexican outfit Monterrey. Rodolfo’s exit from Inter Miami could pave the way for the club to sign Busquets ahead of the new edition of MLS.

Beckham is confident the Barcelona veteran will join the club in June. He is even anticipating the arrival of Lionel Messi, even though the Argentine is reportedly closing in on a contract extension with Paris Saint-Germain.

Barcelona, though, are not expected to give up so easily as far as their bid to keep hold of Busquets is concerned.

The coaching staff led by Xavi is determined to retain the midfielder’s service next season, and as we approach the second half of the campaign, it will be interesting to see whether the club succeed in convincing the veteran captain to prolong his stay at Camp Nou.

After an eventful end to the transfer deadline day, Barcelona will look to focus on their affairs on the pitch as they take on Real Betis tonight.

It is a must-win contest for the Catalans as they look to maintain their healthy five-point lead over arch-rivals Real Madrid at the top of the league table.

The club have performed exceedingly well since the turn of the year. But ahead of a tough February schedule, they must proceed with caution, especially with a host of players already running the risk of suspension in the upcoming game against Sevilla in the event of a booking versus Real Betis.

There are, in fact, four Barcelona players that could face suspension against Sevilla if they pick up a booking tonight.

The players in contention are Sergio Busquets, Ronald Araujo, Ferran Torres and Gavi. They have all picked up four yellow cards in La Liga this season and will miss the upcoming league contest against Sevilla if they pick up another booking.

In addition to these four players, Barcelona also have head coach Xavi Hernandez running the risk of suspension. The Spaniard has taken up four bookings in La Liga, including one last weekend when Barcelona faced Girona.

Another booking against Real Betis would mean that the head coach will not be available against Sevilla in the next game.

Apart from these individuals, Barcelona also have Ousmane Dembele running the risk of suspension due to his four yellow cards. But the winger is currently out injured, having picked up a knock at the end of last month.

Alejandro Balde and Gavi represent the creme-de-la-creme of an outrageously talented set of young stars blossoming at La Masia. The famed youth academy may have endured a rough period in between, but it is now well and truly back with some generational talents.

The Algarve Youth Cup is an international tournament scheduled to be held in April that will see the youth teams of some of Europe’s top footballing nations compete for glory.

The Spanish Under-17 outfit head into the tournament as one of the favorites and must get the better of Germany, The Netherlands, and Portugal to claim the bragging rights. Interestingly, La Rojita won the tournament in 2022 and 2020 and are looking for their third successive triumph at the event.

Unsurprisingly, La Masia has a significant contingent travelling next month to represent the Spanish outfit. Five players from the academy have been called up for the tournament, and Barça Universal presents a brief overview of the selected prodigies.

1. Hector Fort
The 16-year-old right-back is one of La Masia’s most promising defenders who has won the U-14, U-15, and U-16 Championships with FC Barcelona’s youth setup. He is often compared to Cesar Azpilicueta for his versatile style of play.

Fort predominantly plays as a right-back but is capable of playing in central defence too. His excellent ball-playing qualities make him a strong playmaking option on the field who can comfortably play out of complicated positions.

Gifted with an astute understanding of positioning, passing, and coordination, he makes for an ideal defender in a positional and possession-based setup like the Spanish National Team. Further, he is adept at maintaining a high defensive line with composure and good recovery.

2. Lamine Yamal

Lamine Yamal is undoubtedly the most hyped player on the list, and rightly so. The 15-year-old star has already caught Xavi Hernandez’s eye as a dynamic forward and could be involved with Barcelona’s senior team as early as the coming preseason.

The left-footed Spaniard can play as an attacking midfielder, winger, or second striker, although the former is his preferred position. Yamal possesses a strong palette of talents of which his pace, dribbling, vision, and understanding of the game make him a serious threat in the final third. He is deadly in 1v1 situations and plays as an aggressive vertical player.

At just 15 years of age, Yamal already has five appearances with Barcelona’s U-19 setup in the UEFA Youth League and will look to set the stage on fire when he travels next month with La Rojita.

3. Pau Prim
At just 16 years of age, Pau Prim promises to be one of the academy’s best defensive midfielders with a unique ability to play with both feet. As required by a traditional Barcelona pivot, the teenager has phenomenal control of the ball, a deep understanding of positioning and an accurate pass.

There is an aspect of his game that Prim needs to work on, i.e his physical presence in duels and ability to hold down the fortress on counters. At 16 years of age and with a long future ahead of him, he has all the time in the world to correct his minor shortcomings.

The defensive midfielder is a real asset in the team’s buildup and could contribute a lot to his National team setup as an orchestrator. Further, his ability to control the tempo of the game shows maturity beyond his years, as does his vocal leadership on the field.

4. Pau Cubarsi
Pau Cubarsi is one of the few promising centre-back talents at La Masia, and his profile becomes further interesting when one considers the rarity with which the famed academy produces prodigies in central defence.

His strong physique and seamless ability to pressurise opposition forwards makes him a daunting presence in his own area.

As opposed to his counterparts, Cubarsi hesitates to commit himself to a forced defensive action and prefers to stay on his feet as opposed to sliding his way into the opponent’s path.

The 15-year-old has already made his debut for the Catalan U-18 side in the UEFA Youth League and played 78 minutes in the competition. The opportunity to play for the Spanish U-17 outfit presents him with a great chance of accelerating his ascent and demanding a more regular role in the senior ranks at Barcelona.

5. Marc Guiu
At 17 years of age, Marc Guiu is the oldest of all the Masia players called up for next month’s tournament and arguably the least known. The Juvenil A player employs his services predominantly as a centre-forward, albeit capable of playing on the wing too.

In four appearances in the UEFA Youth League this season, Guiu has found the back of the net once. He has, however, not been a regular starter for the team and has played only 115 minutes across the four appearances and started just one game.

Guiu is expected to start on the bench for the Spanish set-up in the upcoming event. However, with this being his last appearance with the U-17 side, owing to his age, he will be under pressure to prove his calibre and climb onto the next rung.

The English club could make a renewed attempt to sign the Brazilian in the summer
Chelsea’s super project is heading for a resounding failure. With an investment in signings of around €500 million, the London team remain anchored in mid-table with no chance of winning the Premier League and practically out of the fight to qualify for the Champions League.

The sporting and economic disaster will have consequences in the future with another squad revolution in which some big names may leave to make room for more stars with which to improve the team’s performance.

Chelsea are convinced that they have signed poorly and curse the fact that they missed out on some vital targets to get them through the season.

One of those names was that of Raphinha, who opted to go to Barcelona, rejecting a superior proposal from Chelsea.

In London, they are clear that the team’s main problem is in attacking positions and the coaches are not forgetting a player who made a difference in the Premier League and who at Barça, for now, is not differential.

They want him and they will throw the bait next summer in case Barça need to get rid of someone to balance the numbers. And there is plenty of money to sign him at Stamford Bridge.

Earlier today, the draw for the Copa del Rey semi-finals took place, and somewhat inevitably, Barcelona ended up getting drawn against arch-rivals Real Madrid.

The Blaugrana have already tasted success against their eternal rivals in a cup competition already this season, beating them in the Spanish Super Cup final to win the first trophy of the Xavi Hernandez era.

And they will have to get the better of Carlo Ancelotti’s men across two legs to progress to the finals of the Copa del Rey, where they will face either Athletic Club or CA Osasuna.

The first leg of the semi-final encounter is likely to take place on the 1st or 2nd of March at the Santiago Bernabeu, with the second leg set to be played on April 4/5 at Camp Nou.

And, according to Javi Miguel of AS, Barcelona could be boosted by the return of Ousmane Dembele for the first-leg tie at the Santiago Bernabeu in just over a month.

The 25-year-old suffered a thigh injury in Barça’s latest La Liga clash against Girona and it has been reported that he could be out for five weeks.

It means that the Frenchman is almost certain to miss both the ties against Manchester United in the UEFA Europa League playoffs. And it leaves him cutting it close to the first leg of the Copa del Rey clash.

However, Javi Miguel is reporting that Dembele is not entirely ruled out of the first leg against Real Madrid. And his presence would give a major boost to Xavi & co. considering that the winger has been in fine form this season.

Indeed, the 2018 FIFA World Cup winner has scored eight goals and set up seven more for his teammates. If he completes his recovery and returns in time for the Real Madrid clash, Barcelona’s chances of grabbing a victory will undoubtedly be greater.

With two days left for the January transfer window to slam shut, Barcelona defender Hector Bellerin could secure an exit from the club amidst interest from Sporting CP.

The reports of the Portuguese club’s interest in Bellerin surfaced on Saturday as they see the right-back as a replacement for Pedro Porro, who is bound for Tottenham Hotspur.

Last night, Sporting and Tottenham reached an agreement for the transfer of Porro and now Bellerin is awaiting an offer from Ruben Amorim’s side as he is ready to leave Barcelona before the winter window closes.

This claim comes from SPORT, who state that the 27-year-old has given the green light to his departure and is waiting for a concrete approach from Sporting CP.

As per the report, Porro will be moving to Tottenham imminently in a deal worth €45 million with the two clubs reaching an agreement over the deal yesterday.

It has now paved the way for Sporting to launch a move for Bellerin, who has found things hard at Barcelona since coming back to the club where he spent his early youth career.

The 27-year-old Spaniard joined on a free transfer after his contract with Arsenal was terminated. However, he has made just seven appearances across all competitions, indicating where he stands in the scheme of things under Xavi.

Bellerin signed just a one-year contract with Barcelona and will become a free agent in the summer as the club have no intention to offer him an extension. Given that he is not favoured, it should not come as a surprise that the right-back is looking for a way out right now.

Bellerin’s potential departure is unlikely to make a great difference for Barça on the pitch or when it comes to their Financial Fair Play issues.

As iterated earlier, the Spaniard was very much a fringe player and was hardly used by Xavi, while his low salary also means that his exit is unlikely to generate much margin on the Fair Play front.

Barcelona had their hearts set on a move for Chelsea captain and legend Cesar Azpilicueta in the last summer window.

Manager Xavi Hernandez was keen on roping in the 33-year-old veteran due to his versatile nature, experience and leadership skills.

However, the move fell through as Azpilicueta decided to sign a new contract with Chelsea to help the club through a period of transition when there was an ownership change.

Even though he is contracted with Chelsea until the summer of 2024, a fresh report from SPORT is speculating that Azpilicueta could be allowed to leave in the summer, which could pique the interest of Barcelona again.

Chelsea are scouring the market for a new right-back this month and are making a concerted effort to sign Malo Gusto from Olympique Lyon and Denzel Dumfries of Inter Milan. A new player is being sought as Reece James has struggled with injuries this season.

But once the England international returns to full fitness, Azpilicueta could be rendered surplus to requirements ahead of the next season, provided Chelsea sign Gusto or another right-back.

Should such a scenario unfold, Barcelona could favourably at the prospect of signing the 33-year-old Spaniard in the summer, reports SPORT.

It is no secret that the La Liga table-toppers are also on the lookout for a new right-back as Hector Bellerin, whose contract expires at the end of the season, will not be renewed by the club.

So, Barcelona are said to be attentive to Azpilicueta’s situation as he would be a good short-term signing at Camp Nou. However, the report clarifies that the Blaugrana would not want to pay any fee for his services.

At the same time, it is also stated that Azpilicueta is not the primary target at this point, with Benjamin Pavard of Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund’s Thomas Meunier being the main candidates.

In a positive development, Barcelona youngster Angel Alarcon has agreed a two-year contract with the club, reports Albert Roge.

The 18-year-old academy ace recently made his first-team debut for Barcelona, when he came on as a substitute in the Copa del Rey contest against AD Ceuta. He was subsequently in the matchday squad for the La Liga clash against Getafe, although he did not get any minutes.

Alarcon’s current contract with Barça stood to expire at the end of the current season. But, the 18-year-old has shown great promise so far at youth level and is understood to have made an impression on first-team manager Xavi Hernandez as well.

As a result, the Catalans see a bright future for the young Spaniard and have been in talks over a renewal with him.

Now, it seems that a breakthrough has been achieved and an agreement has been reached with Alarcon set to stay on at Barcelona by agreeing a two-year contract.

The report from Albert Roge claims that the young striker’s new contract will be on the B team file, but he will stay in the first-team dynamics. At the same time, he will continue playing for the reserve team as and when required.

It is claimed that the move to hand him a two-year deal is strategic as the club will keep an eye on how he progresses over the next year with Barcelona Atletic. If his development is satisfactory, the Catalans will sit down and negotiate a fresh deal.

Even though Angel Alarcon started out as a winger, he has been playing more centrally in recent weeks at the request of the first-team coaching staff.

With Memphis Depay leaving the club this month and Barcelona not being in a position to sign a new player, it will not be surprising to see him get more minutes with Xavi’s side.

For now, Alarcon’s new contract is agreed upon and the only thing remaining is the formal signing and photograph with club president Joan Laporta.

Barcelona booked a place in the semi-finals of the 2022/23 Copa del Rey after securing a hard-fought 1-0 victory over a ten-man Real Sociedad outfit on Wednesday.

The Catalans were the better team in the first half but could not break open the deadlock against Imanol Alguacil’s side, who saw Brais Mendez get sent off for a dangerous tackle.

But early in the second period, Ousmane Dembele opened the scoring for the Blaugrana and they held on to their lead, even though Real Sociedad turned up the heat in the latter stages. Marc-Andre ter Stegen came up clutch again with two fine stops late on to ensure Barcelona won.

Having already won the Spanish Super Cup this season, Barça now took a step closer towards winning another trophy, having qualified for the semi-finals of the Copa del Rey.

Manager Xavi Hernandez, who celebrated his 43rd birthday on Wednesday, spoke to the media after the match.

On Ousmane Dembele’s improvement: “Since we’ve been here, Dembele has improved a lot. I see the full-backs who play against him and they suffer. I believe in him a lot. I always think he can generate a lot for us. Today he played an extraordinary game.

“Dembele has been criticised and booed. We have changed him and he receives a standing ovation. I’m very happy for him!”

On failing to kill the game: “We lack aggression in front of goal. In the end, you win 1-0 and at the end, the opponents have that chance. We can’t give away these advantages.

“It’s a good game from us, but it looks like we score the first goal and that’s it. We have to go for the 2-0…”

On Dembele: “Dembele, in his position, is one of the best players in the world. I think what has changed in Dembele is that he now believes he is one of the best wingers in the world, something I already knew, now he is starting to believe it. He feels our confidence. I talk to him quite a lot. I’m glad because he’s a great guy.”

On the match: “We played a brilliant 60 minutes. I’m very satisfied with the game.”

On Pedri: “Pedri only has a bruise on his knee. He is fine. He’ll be available for Saturday’s match.”

On the season so far: “We are where we wanted to be at this time in January. Leaders in La Liga, we’re in the Copa del Rey semi-finals, we have won the Spanish Super Cup.”

On Sergio Busquets: “He’s at a great level… Very high level. He’s an extraordinary player. Having said that, we lose balls in transitions, which must be improved on.”

On the decision to bench Inaki Pena: “I thought that Ter Stegen had to play today, just as I thought Iñaki Peña had to play against Ceuta and Intercity. They know how it goes, they’re all in the team and I haven’t given them any further explanation.”

On what needs to improve: “Today it was difficult for us when they got into the low block, it’s hard for us to find those deep passes… We’re missing the last pass. I think that’s what we’re missing the most.”

On Robert Lewandowski: “Lewandowski works for the team and creates chances. I’m very happy with his work on the attack. Even if he didn’t score, he played a very complete game and we must also highlight him.”

On his tactical decision: “I thought that the best thing was to play with four midfielders again.”

On his staff: “I have the best staff in the world. Both the coaches, Óscar and Sergio, the analysts, the physical trainers, the nutritionists… The work that the staff does is sensational. The best thing that I have as a coach is my staff. I appreciate them very much.”

On Raphinha: “He’ll be very important for us. I have a lot of confidence in him.”

Barcelona have struck gold in recent years by placing their faith in youngsters like Gavi and Pedri. Despite just being teenagers when they burst onto the scene, their unique profile and abundance of talent forced managers to recognise them and incorporate them into the first team regularly.

Not every story, however, is as sweet. Pablo Torre signed for the Catalans in the summer and immediately joined forces with the first team. Though he is registered as a Barca Atletic player, all of his minutes have come under Xavi Hernandez and have impressed the manager.

Yet, Torre is far from cementing a regular spot in the first team. The heavy competition in midfield have seen his minutes limited to the Copa del Rey and an occasional cameo in other competitions.

According to reports from SPORT, Barcelona’s clash against Real Sociedad later today will play a crucial role in deciding the youngster’s immediate future.

The Blaugrana wish to prioritise the teenager’s development and do not like the idea of stagnating the same.

As many as three La Liga sides are interested in signing the youngster immediately on loan, and Barcelona would not object to the possibility of a temporary exit even though Xavi has insisted he does not wish to lose more players.

Torre, on the other hand, is adamant about staying in Catalonia. If he has minutes against the Basque side later today, he will undoubtedly stay to fight for a spot.

While the teenager was splendid in his start against Intercity, he lacked the punch last week when Barcelona played Ceuta and was taken off at half-time.

With no easy fixtures left on the Catalans’ calendar, Torre’s best option would be to look for greener grasses until June. He could then fight for a starting spot next season, with more experience under his belt.