Barcelona prioritise the sale of Dutch duo, hoping to earn €100 million
Going into the summer transfer window, Barcelona had far more players to offload than those to bring in.
However, they have already completed the signings of Franck Kessie, Andreas Christensen, Raphinha, and Robert Lewandowski, without properly offloading the deadweight in the team.
Francisco Trincao, Clement Lenglet, and Philippe Coutinho have brought in a combined €20 million, with only the Brazilian leaving on a permanent transfer.
Departures are of utmost priority for Barcelona as they hope to raise money to sign new players and register existing ones.
As such, they have prioritised the sale of Frenkie de Jong and Memphis Depay, according to SPORT. Xavi has been informed about the decision as they hope to raise nearly €100 million combined from the two exit operations.
De Jong was Xavi’s first-choice central midfielder alongside Pedri last season. However, he also happens to be the only expendable asset in the team who can, firstly, not do a lot of damage to the team with his exit, and secondly, bring in a ton of money.
He has been linked with a move to Manchester United all summer, with Chelsea creeping in behind.
In fact, Barcelona have already reached an agreement with United about the transfer fee – in the region of €85 million including add-ons -, but the player refuses to move.
There is a myriad of reasons for that, but mostly it comes down to his dream of playing for Barcelona.
The situation with Memphis, on the contrary, is quite different. He was Barça’s top scorer last season without playing a lot, but finds himself as the 7th-choice option ahead of next season after the signing of Raphinha and Lewandowski.
Reports have suggested that the Dutch striker has turned down a move to Tottenham Hotspur and is ready to fight for his place under Xavi.
Memphis has a price tag of around €20-25 million on him given that he is on the last year of his contract. Barcelona can, however, extend him in the hopes of luring in more money, that will certainly be a risky operation
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