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Barcelona are on a roll in the transfer market, making key signings much ahead of their rivals as they go for another La Liga title as well as seek to advance in the Champions League.
The Catalan giants have been linked with even more players, while certain players are set to move by the end of the January transfer window.
Here, we take a look at the latest Barcelona transfer news and rumours of the day:
#1 Argentina coach talks about Messi's return to the national team
Following last year's World Cup, Argentina and Barcelona forward Lionel Messi revealed that he would be stepping away from the national team for a while, although he did not announce his retirement.
Lionel Scaloni, Argentina's current manager, who took over from Jorge Sampaoli, has revealed that he will speak to Messi and try to persuade him to return to the national team.
Argentina play the Copa America in June which Scaloni hopes will include Messi.
“We will speak with Leo in the days before the March list. When the time is right we will speak. I hope he (Messi) can be here but more than that, we want him to be happy. I have a good feeling," said Scaloni.
Despite having a talented group of players, Messi hasn't won any trophies with the Argentina national team.
Also See : Barcelona Transfer News, La Liga Transfer News, EPL Transfer News.
#2 Frenkie de Jong release clause
Barcelona's new signing, Frenkie de Jong, is a highly-rated talent and touted to become one of the best players of his generation. 21-year-old de Jong signed with Barcelona from Ajax for an eye-popping €75m this past week, and is set to join the club in the summer.
Mirror are reporting that Barcelona have set a €400million release clause for de Jong, which will be the fourth highest in the Barcelona squad with only Messi, Busquets, and Umtiti having a higher release clause.
#3 Denis Suarez to Arsenal transfer update
The Denis Suarez to Arsenal transfer saga continues, and now it seems that the talks between Barcelona and Arsenal have stalled, as per Standard, and other sources.
Barcelona are demanding £20million for the Spaniard, or a loan offer with an agreement that Arsenal will sign him in the summer.
But Arsenal don't have money to buy any players outright in the January transfer window and are only looking for loan deals.
It also seems that Arsenal have turned their sights to other targets, namely PSG's Christopher Nkunku, and Real Madrid's James Rodriguez, who is on loan at Bayern Munich.
#4 Barcelona interested in signing Juan Mata on a free transfer
Barcelona seem to be interested in signing more midfielders despite signing Kevin-Prince Boateng and Frenkie de Jong, as well as their interest in PSG's Adrien Rabiot.
Goal are reporting that Manchester United's Spanish midfielder, Juan Mata, has had talks on signing with the Catalans on a free transfer in the summer. Mata's contract expires at the end of this season and Manchester United haven't agreed with him on a new contract yet.
Mata joined the club from Chelsea for €46 million, and his one-year extension was triggered by Manchester United last year. Fellow Spaniard Ander Herrera's contract also expires in the summer, while David de Gea's contract expires in the summer, but Manchester United can extend the contract by a year.
#5 Barcelona keen on adding Manchester City's Nicolas Otamendi
After failing to land Ajax's Matthijs de Ligt, Barcelona have now turned their attention to Manchester City's Nicolas Otamendi. The Argentine defender is no longer first-choice in defence with his position taken by John Stones, Aymeric Laporte, and Vincent Kompany, and it seems that the Argentine international is unhappy.
The Sun are reporting that Barcelona will have to fork out £35m to sign Otamendi. Guardiola recently spoke about the Otamendi situation and hinted that the Argentine could leave Manchester City.
"He's not happy. When he plays he's happy, when he doesn't play he's not happy, but not just Otamendi, everybody. All of them. We would like to [keep him], but it depends on the players and the agents. He's a guy who plays with problems, with kicks, with muscular issues and always he's there.
"It's incredible. What I said last season remains the same for me, it doesn't matter if he plays more regularly than last season. I'm delighted with him but I can understand him," said Guardiola.
