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Hello and welcome to Sportskeeda's daily Barcelona transfer news roundup. Here are the top transfer stories and rumours surrounding the Catalan giants today.
Barcelona on the brink of signing Matheus Fernandes
According to Globoesporte, Barcelona are edging closer to a winter transfer for Palmeiras midfielder Matheus Fernandes. Talks are understood to be speeding up between the two clubs and all negotiations will likely end with a fee close to €11 million.
If an agreement is reached, the Catalan giants will pay the Brazilian club a fee of €7 million in the initial stages before coughing up another €4 million in bonuses.
Fernandes has been on the Blaugrana's radar for a while and the club were even believed to have made a bid worth €6 million for his services although it was rejected.
Barcelona fall behind in Kai Havertz chase
Barcelona have fallen behind in the race for Kai Havertz as Liverpool are reportedly pushing hard to bring the Bayer Leverkusen midfielder to Anfield.
According to Mundo Deportivo, the Reds have held talks with the Bundesliga club over a move for the playmaker and are willing to pay a staggering €125 million to land his signature.
The German international enjoyed a breakout campaign with the club during which he scored 17 league goals and has tallied two goals and one assist so far this season.
Jurgen Klopp has already signed Takumi Minamino for £7.25 million from RB Salzburg in January and a transfer for Havertz will likely smash their current transfer record.
Quique Setien was Barcelona's fourth choice to succeed Ernesto Valverde
Spanish football expert Graham Hunter has claimed that Quique Setien was Barcelona's fourth choice to replace Ernesto Valverde as manager of the club. The former Real Betis man signed a two-and-a-half-year deal with the Catalan giants on Monday shortly after Valverde was dismissed by the club.
Speaking to the Transfer Talk podcast, Hunter said:
"They went out to Qatar to try and persuade Xavi, who they should have known wouldn't come, couldn't come. They tried to persuade Ronald Koeman, who had already told them previously he wouldn't join them. He thinks he'll coach the Netherlands to the European Championship and victory this summer.
"They sussed out what Mauricio Pochettino had previously said, that he'd rather go back and work on his farm in Argentina than go and coach Barcelona, they tried to persuade him. Quique Setien is an attractive coach with a [Johan] Cruyff mentality but he is fourth choice, at best. It has been a risible Keystone Cops affair from start to finish."
Setien's first game in charge of Barcelona will be their La Liga clash against Granada at the weekend.
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