With Miralem Pjanic and Junior Firpo on their way out, Barcelona is getting closer to completing their first departing transactions of the summer.
Pjanic arrived for £51 million from Juventus at the conclusion of last season, but under Ronald Koeman he struggled to make an impact.
According to Sport, the playmaker is expected to leave on loan in the coming weeks, with Serie A or the Premier League being his most likely destinations.
Junior Firpo is expected to be the first player to depart this summer, with a move to Leeds looming.
As previously revealed by Sportsmail, the teams have conducted negotiations over the £12.8 million defender, who has also been offered to West Ham, Southampton, and AC Milan.
According to Spanish sources, Leeds look to be the frontrunners with a contract in place, but the payment arrangement is complicated by Real Betis owing 20% for their former player.
Leeds attempted to reach an agreement on an initial loan with the option to buy Firpo, but it is unclear what type of arrangement would be reached.
Victor Orta, the director of football, is looking for a left-back to replace or compete with Ezgjan Alioski, who is out of contract but has been offered a new contract.
Pjanic, a Bosnian international, is a well-known player with a plethora of admirers. He wants to return to Serie A, and Juventus has approached him about a two-year loan, albeit he has been requested to reduce his pay.
Inter, AC Milan, and Tottenham are all said to be keeping an eye on the situation.
Barcelona is well aware that they will need to reduce the team in order to make new recruits and provide Lionel Messi, who is now a free agent, a decent new contract.
Content created and supplied by: Asante_0 (via Opera News )
COMMENTS