Reports: Barcelona to sell three first-team players in January

What’s the story?

Barcelona are on top of La Liga and are flying in the UEFA Champions League as well. Ernesto Valverde's side have been in terrific form and the manager hopes to keep it this way.

But there is one thing he wants to change. He wants to remove the players he no longer sees as a part of his plans and replace them with new ones.

As per reports in SPORT, Aleix Vidal, Andre Gomes, Denis Suarez, Gerard Deulofeu, Arda Turan and Paco Alcacer are the names that are reportedly on the transfer list. But only three of them will be sold by the club and it's completely dependent on the clubs that are willing to sign them, and also on the amount they can get as the transfer fee.

In case you didn’t know...

Valverde wanted to sign Philippe Coutinho and Angel Di Maria in the summer, but was unable to do so for various reasons. He wants to get them again in January is willing to let go of a few players to raise funds.

Messi has just signed a new contract and has reportedly pocketed £90 million as a loyalty bonus! That might take a huge hit on the transfer budget but is clearly something that is worth spending on.

The heart of the matter

Valverde wants to keep only the best players at the club and is not willing to give a chance to the ones who are struggling to make it to the first team. He wants to add more competition so that the others also start performing to their best potential every time they go on the pitch.

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Author’s Take

This is a very bold decision by Valverde. It shows that the manager only wants the best for the club and is not willing to let anything come in the way of him winning silverware at the club.